Discovering Us
by simplymondler
Summary: A secret is let out which causes Monica to reconsider her relationship with Chandler.
1. Chapter 1

Discovering Us

Set season 4 - early on when Chandler first has feelings for Kathy. She's still dating Joey and they haven't 'crossed the line' yet. I was re-watching the scene where Chandler announces to the gang that he's in love with Kathy and noticed he kept shooting little looks at Monica. So, as usual, I read too much into it and came up with a story. What started out as a oneshot ended up as multi-chapter between 9-10 parts.

Ok, so let's see…season 4 – check, Chandler with a crush – check, AU hook up- check, little bit of angst – check, Mondler mushy bits –check, Happy ending –check…me getting predictable -oh yeah!

* * *

Rachel looked over at Chandler where he sat pining at the kitchen table. She could see how down he was about the whole Kathy situation. Usually, she left this kinda stuff to Monica to sort out -she was good with Chandler; she understood him. The problem was Monica wasn't here.

Her attention returned to her crossword when he let out another sigh, causing her to roll her eyes. He was making it mightily difficult for her to focus on her puzzle. That's all she wanted to do; was that too much to ask?

She glanced at him again, his shoulders slumped and his face a picture of misery. His whole demeanour was one of melancholy and gloom. Why couldn't he be bummed out in his own apartment? It was starting to both depress and annoy her in equal measures.

Rachel decided she might as well try to cheer him up and talk to him. It might help. She wasn't Monica, didn't have the same patience but she'd give it a damn good go. She had to try _something_ before she went crazy…or killed him.

"You still trying to get over Kathy?" There, not the best opening line, Monica probably would have gone for something more subtle but at least she'd made a start.

Chandler froze. Slowly, he blinked looking up from his magazine, his attention turning to the only other occupant of the room. "What?" he asked after a moment, clearly surprised.

"You, Kathy, the whole unrequited love thing," she expanded, slightly annoyed she was having to repeat herself, "how's that all going?"

"Oh," he had heard her right. He frowned in confusion; he rarely spoke to Rachel about this kinda stuff. Not unless she was around when he was speaking to Monica. Still, the two of them had had a few moments over the years and it would be good to talk to someone. He let out an exaggerated depressed sigh his shoulders sagging hopelessly, "Awful, Rach," he admitted, "it's going awful."

"Oh," she hadn't really thought this through, "it'll get better, Chandler," she promised somewhat unconvincingly.

"No it won't!" He shot back annoyed by the whole situation he found himself in. "It sucks. Big time. Why do I always do this? It's like I have some sorta self-sabotaging system built in to stop me from being happy. Why can't I ever fall in love with a woman I can actually date? Would that be so hard? Why do I constantly go for those I can't have? I mean I'm still trying to convince myself I'm over the whole Monica thing and now-" He paused mid-sentence eyes wide.

Crap.

"Monica thing? What Monica thing?" Rachel asked suddenly very interested.

Double crap.

"No-no-nothing," Chandler lied, instantly realizing the importance of what he'd let slip and was now in full panic mode. Why could nothing go right for him? His heart beating rapidly, he jumped up from the kitchen table, needing to escape the apartment. To run away.

Sensing his attempt to bolt, Rachel leapt up from the couch. She quickly walked over to him, blocking his path. Needing to do something he quickly turned and walked back to the table, circling around it to keep it between them as a shield. Not that he thought it could offer much protection. Not now that Rachel sensed gossip.

"You had a thing for Monica?" She persisted, her eyes sparkling, "When?"

"Never, no thing," he insisted still dodging her. He was starting to sweat a little.

"Chandler, you _have_ to tell me, this is juicy stuff."

"No, it's not juicy," he countered quickly, desperate to turn back time. Desperate to do something to stop her talking. "There's nothing to tell, so just forget I said anything, ok? I mean, come on I'm in love with my roommate's girlfriend, surely that's juicy enough."

He prayed it would be.

"Noo!" Rachel argued, not caring about the Kathy situation in the slightest; this was a lot more interesting. "Come on, you never tell me anything!" she whined.

"That's cause you're a gossip!" Chandler countered, his voice going more high-pitched than he'd like. She knew he was nervous and had something to hide. The woman could smell fear.

"I am not a gossip!" Rachel insisted trying to approach him. He kept the table between them, "Let me prove it to you, tell me about Monica and I promise I won't gossip to anyone. Not _even_ to her!"

Fat chance.

"No!" He protested, shaking his head.

How could he get out of this?

"You have too!"

He shook his head again, running out of excuses, running out of time.

"Chandler tell me! Tell me tell me tell me!"

What to do? She wasn't going to let go of this any time soon. If he didn't say _something_ then she'd bring it up again. She knew he was hiding _something_. Maybe, just maybe, if he gave her the _tiniest_ bit of information, played it down, then she might accept it and leave him alone. It was unlikely but surely it was worth shot?

"Fine!" He snapped, taking a deep breath, his hands turning into fists before gripping the back of the kitchen chair, hard. "Fine," he grated, his knuckles turning white as he closed his eyes, "I had a thing for Monica!"

His explosion of a confession was met with silence.

Silence?

Opening his eyes he saw that Rachel's own wide eyes weren't focused on him. She was looking past him, over his shoulder in complete shock. He frowned, about to ask what was going on, when the sound of a door closing behind him clued in him.

Oh God no.

He held his breath. He couldn't turn around. Couldn't move.

He stared in horror at Rachel, desperately searching for any sort of sign of who was in the apartment with them; who had heard him reveal his biggest secret. Rachel met his worried gaze for just a moment, looking panicked before she quickly looked away with a wince. He could tell it wasn't good. He just hoped it wasn't...

"You had a thing for me?"

Chandler squeezed his eyes shut, cursing his luck; why couldn't it have been _anyone_ else? Anyone.

"I'm, uh, going to leave you guys to it," Rachel announced, ignoring his silent plea for help. She did throw him one last wince in sympathy, before grabbing her puzzle book and beating a hasty retreat to her bedroom.

Crap.

* * *

TBC…

I hope you enjoyed the start. It's all written so hopefully it won't be long between updates. As always, thank you for leaving feedback to my previous fics. Very much appreciated! Please let me know your thoughts on this one. Thanks.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N- Wow! Thanks guys so much for all the reviews. You're all awesome :o)

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Realizing he couldn't stay standing with his back to her forever, he tried to wipe the grimace from his face, as he slowly turned around to see the damage. She was still stood frozen by the door, unconsciously blocking his only escape. Her face was giving nothing away. He swallowed nervously.

"Uh…hi," he eventually said somewhat clumsily, desperate to break the tense silence between them, "how long have you been standing there?"

Maybe there was a _slight_ chance the Gods were smiling down on him.

"When did you have a thing for me?"

Or maybe not. She wasn't going to let this go; he could tell and he couldn't really blame her.

He sighed as he studied her a moment longer, wetting his lips as he tried to decide just how truthful to be. Should he go with his initial instinct to lie and try to protect himself? Was it too late for that? Should he tell her the truth and finally have it out in the open? They said the truth was supposed to set you free…there was a good chance he was going to find that out.

"Chandler?" She pressed, stepping closer to him.

"I, uh…" he swallowed, breaking eye contact and walked a few steps away; needing space to think. Scrubbing a hand furiously through his hair, he tried to consider his options.

"Chandler," she wasn't giving him time to think of any excuses, wasn't giving him any time at all.

"I…" what the hell could he say to her? He was never very good at lying to her; not convincingly anyhow and especially not over something as important as this. Yet, if he told her the whole truth he had a lot to lose. She was a lot to lose.

"Chandler," she was getting frustrated by his silence and he was getting frustrated at the lack of it. Hell, he was just frustrated period. Frustrated by this situation, frustrated by everything he'd suffered through the last several months; the longing, the want, the pain and anguish. Maybe this was a chance to draw the line under it all.

Besides, none of this was her fault; she deserved the truth at the very least.

"I had a thing for you," he confessed, in a tone comprised of anger and resignation.

There he'd said it. It was out. Although, it was only partly true; he'd used _past_ tense, but at least it was a start. It was more than he'd ever admitted before.

"A serious thing?" she asked almost gently, her frustration having diminished somewhat, just grateful that he was talking to her.

"Yeah," he swallowed, still not looking at her. It was _slightly_ easier this way.

"Why didn't you tell me?" He shook his head and scoffed unimpressed; surely she could work that one out, "but I thought you were in love with Kathy?"

He could hear the confusion in her voice and winced. He couldn't blame her for that.

"It's complicated," he finally muttered.

"How so?" she wanted answers and his short responses weren't helping any, "Come on, talk to me, please?"

He closed his eyes collecting himself. So many times he'd dreamt of this moment, of telling her his feelings, but never had it been like this. Being unprepared, frustrated and being forced into a corner, but he had to play the hand he'd been dealt. He needed to calm himself down and talk to her seriously, as this was his one chance. He expected it to go very badly but at least when he looked back at this moment, which he knew he would throughout his life, he'd know that he'd given it his best shot, despite the circumstances.

With a reluctant nod he walked over to the couch, feeling like a condemned man. He closed his eyes, trying to work out what he was going to say. He'd decided he was going to be as truthful as possible and then deal with the consequences after. It wouldn't be easy but at least then they'd be no more hiding. Their friendship was strong, they could survive this…he hoped.

A moment later he felt the couch dip as she joined him. They sat in silence a moment. She was waiting for him, giving him time and he took a deep breath. He couldn't put this off forever.

"I fell in love with you long before Kathy," Chandler confessed honestly, "but I knew you didn't feel the same and I couldn't stand the thought of things being weird between us, so I didn't tell you…or anyone, actually. It was hard, really hard and it got to a real low point recently," he admitted, squeezing his eyes closed and pinching the bridge of his nose, trying to keep at bay the painful memories that were still so fresh.

Monica nodded remaining silent. She didn't like seeing him in pain but knew he had to get this out.

"I finally realized I had to get over you _somehow_ before I went insane," he continued his confession softly, "but it was hard. I mean you're my best friend and I see you every day. It's not like I could just stop seeing you...so, I had to do something else…I had to try and replace you."

"Replace me?" she asked with a frown.

"Yeah," he swallowed, "I told myself I needed something, _someone_ to replace all the thoughts of you. Someone I could put all my energy into chasing and fill my head with…I figured that way, there'd be no room left for you; try and phase you out kinda thing. I'd been trying to find someone for a few weeks when I first saw Kathy. She was the first woman that I could actually imagine taking your place. I liked her and I could sense she liked me so I threw everything at it.

"It may be a bit obsessive and sudden," he shrugged, "and I know I risk hurting Joey in the process but so much of me was convinced that _she_ was the only way I could move on from you that I had to go for it. I couldn't risk waiting for another opportunity and I couldn't continue like I had been. I know it makes me a bad person, I know that, but being in love with you well...it really sucks," he offered her a slight sad smile, softening the statement.

"Wow," Monica swallowed, somewhat stunned by everything. She hadn't expected this when she'd came home; it was so out of the blue. "I don't know what to say."

"Just say you don't hate me," Chandler begged softly. That was the important thing. Anything else they could get passed.

"Of course I don't hate you!" Monica answered surprised. "Why would you even think that?"

He let out a relieved breath, "let's see, for falling in love with you, for trying to get over you by using my roommate's girlfriend, for risking hurting Joey...I don't think you need any more reasons."

She looked over at him but he couldn't decipher the look on her face. He waited.

" _Are_ you over me?" she asked quietly.

He swallowed, looking down at the coffee table. He didn't want to lie any more, especially after coming this far, but at the same time he was wary of making things anymore awkward or strained between them.

"No," he finally admitted, going with the truth, "but I'll get there, eventually. Just give me time."

Monica stayed silent for another moment, still studying him, "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure," he shrugged.

He owed her that much. He'd promised himself he would be as honest as possible with her. He had to be if their friendship was going to survive this and stay as strong as it currently was.

"If you had the choice between me or Kathy, who would you choose?"

He jerked in surprise, blinking at her. He hadn't expected that question.

"You," he answered quickly, it was an easy answer, "it's always gonna be you Mon, I've been in love with you for so long, I barely know Kathy. Just give me time though…I'll get over you eventually, I promise."

He'd try his best anyhow, he could promise that much.

"What if I don't want you to?"

Her question was asked so softly, so hesitantly and it confused him. He glanced at her but she was avoiding his gaze, seemingly fascinated by her hands.

"What do you mean?" he queried gently.

She let out a deep breath, still not looking at him, "this is big news and it's just been dropped on me," she sounded nervous but determined. "Before you 'get over' me can you give me a few days to think this over, just in case…in case I…"

"In case what?" he suddenly couldn't breathe.

"In case I want to be with you too," she swallowed before rushing on. "I'm not promising anything and I don't want to get your hopes up or hurt you or anything like that...I really don't. It's just, every now and again I've wondered what a relationship between us would be like. I never really thought hard about it though, you know, it was just random thoughts here or there over the years. I just want some time to think it over, properly before you move on. Our friendship is too important to me to do anything on impulse and I really don't want to hurt you." She looked up and met his gaze, open and honest. "Can you give me a few days?"

Wow.

He smiled and nodded, somewhat stunned, "Monica, if I thought there was the _slightest_ chance you might even consider a relationship with me, I'd wait weeks, months, years…I know that makes me sound desperate but I guess I am."

She nodded, offering him a weak smile, "thanks, I just don't want to rush into anything. This is big."

"I understand," he promised, his hand reaching out and clasping hers lightly, pleased she allowed him to, "I know it's a bit of a bombshell, well a _huge_ bombshell. Take as long as you need. If I can help in any way just talk to me, I've been thinking about this for a long time so I can help with pros and cons and that kinda stuff."

"You've thought about cons?" she was somewhat surprised. "I thought you were in love with me? You wanted a relationship?"

"Oh I do, and I am, completely and utterly but I've thought the idea of 'us' over like a billion times."

"So, what cons have you thought of?" she asked curious.

"The biggest by far is risking our friendship. You're my best friend and I can't imagine not having you in my life. If we got into a relationship and I screwed up and you ended up hating me…I don't know what I'd do," he confessed earnestly.

She nodded, "ditto for me screwing up."

"You're Monica, you never screw up," he joked, squeezing her hand.

She scoffed wishing that were true, "any others?" she asked curious. She could easily list many of her unique compulsions and habits which would definitely be considered cons.

"Breaking up is always the biggest fear," he confessed. "I could never come up with many other cons, I know everything about you and all your little quirks are just part of you; they make you who you are. I couldn't consider any of those reasons to not be with you."

"Thanks," she smiled slightly. Chandler always had a way of making her feel good about herself in a way that no one else could.

They sat in silence for a moment, still holding hands, both lost in their own thoughts.

"I should probably go," Chandler sighed standing up, "It's getting late and I've dumped a lot of crap on you tonight."

"You didn't do it by choice," she pointed out letting him pull her to her feet with their joint hands. "I just need to do a lot of thinking."

"Be careful," he joked lamely.

It was scary to know she was going to be doing thinking that could change both their lives. _Would_ change both their lives, regardless of the outcome.

"I will," she promised, looking up to meet his eyes.

He held her gaze, delighting in the fact that for the first time he was allowed to stare into those blue pools and not feel guilty or have to hide anything. She was staring too, intently searching his eyes, for what he wasn't sure but he let her. He'd offer her anything if he thought it would help.

She was the first to break eye contact and released his hand at the same time. Slightly embarrassed, she took a step back from him, her arms coming to wrap across her waist in a self-hug, before she brought a hand up to chew at a thumb nail.

"I'll see you tomorrow," he promised.

"Sure," she agreed.

He offered her one last boyish smile before he let himself out of the apartment. Pulling her door closed, he shut his eyes and leant back against the cool surface. He started to tremble slightly and he tried to control his breathing. He'd done it; he'd actually done it. He couldn't believe he'd had _the_ conversation with Monica. Not only had he had it, she hadn't instantly turned him down. She was gonna think about it. He actually had a possible shot with her. It was crazy.

Now, he just had to wait, something he wasn't the best at.

With a heavy sigh, he peeled himself away from her door and approached his own. Turning the handle he was met with the sight of Joey and Kathy heavily making out in the canoe. He blinked in surprise, not at the sight, but at the lack of emotion that ran through him. He expected to feel something, but he didn't.

A couple of hours ago walking in on this would have brutally hurt and scarred him. He would have retreated back into the girls' apartment in search of a shoulder to cry on, whilst desperately trying to scrub the image from his mind. Now though, he didn't care. Monica was thinking about _him_. Monica was considering a _them_.

Joey and Kathy could do what they liked.

"Careful not to capsize," he advised with a smile as he walked around them. The smile stayed on his face and he practically skipped to his bedroom, closing the door.

This morning he'd been miserable, trying to convince himself that Kathy was the answer. She wasn't; he could admit that now.

Tonight, he had a small glimmer of hope. Something he'd wanted for so long…now he had a chance. He actually might have a chance to be with _Monica_.

It was going to be an interesting few days.

* * *

TBC...

A/N – this next bit was originally part of the first chapter but it just get way too long so I moved it out. Hated leaving on such a cliff hanger though, so wanted to post this bit up too. Next updates won't be as quick as this lol.


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks again for all the reviews- they are much appreciated :o)

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It was 3.30am when Monica found herself stood in the cold hallway staring at the boys' door. She couldn't sleep, her brain in overdrive thinking about Chandler. It was such a big decision, a huge decision that had the power to change both of their lives. She couldn't risk getting it wrong.

Whenever she had a dilemma or something on her mind, she went to Chandler. The number of times they'd shared late night, or middle of the night discussions. They'd stay up in their sweats or pjs, cuddled on the couch with a blanket and just talked. She always felt so much better afterwards, despite the fact that usually nothing had actually changed. There was just something about bonding with him.

Part of her wondered if this was a good idea. Sure, he usually made her feel better but this decision affected him also. Would he want to see her? He had offered though, said he was there if she wanted to talk to him and their conversation earlier had been so honest that she needed more. Needed to see him.

Decision made, she tried the handle, smiling when it opened, not surprised that despite being robbed recently they still forgot to lock it. Her smile turned into a frown though as she saw the television was on, quietly casting light and shadows across the living room. There was a lone figure in the canoe watching the precariously balanced tv, who turned at the sound of the door.

"Oh hi," Kathy said with a surprised smile.

"Hi," Monica returned, suddenly uncomfortable to be standing in the boys' apartment in an over-sized Giants sweater, shorts and tube socks at 3.30am.

"What are you doing here?" Kathy asked.

"I, uh," god, she felt stupid. "I came to speak with Chandler."

"Oh," Kathy looked surprised and Monica wondered if she could see something else in her eyes. Jealously? Could Kathy be jealous of her? Surely not, she couldn't know Chandler's feeling towards her. "Well, I think he's asleep. To be honest he usually joins me to watch this," she gestured towards the old sitcom playing quietly on the screen, "but I haven't seen him tonight."

Monica had to hide a smile at that news. Had Chandler completely stopped chasing Kathy because of her? She hoped so. Even if she decided not to have a relationship with him, he really shouldn't continue after Kathy if she was just a rebound. It wouldn't be fair to Kathy or Joey.

"That's ok," Monica waved almost dismissively, "I'll just…" she gestured towards Chandler's door.

"Oh," Kathy seemed surprised, "ok."

"Night Kathy."

"Good night Monica."

Monica tried to look more confident than she felt as she walked up to his door. She was very conscious of the fact that Kathy was watching her and she couldn't retreat. She had to do this. She gently tapped on his door before pushing open both parts and sneaking in.

Closing the door sections she let out a sigh.

"You ok?"

She jumped at the sound of his voice, not realizing he was awake.

"Yeah," she dismissed quickly walking further towards him. The room was dark but the lights through the window showed his silhouette clearly, "I hope you don't mind. I couldn't sleep and my brain was starting to hurt so I figured-"

"It's fine Mon," he interrupted her quietly, "you're always welcome, you know that."

She breathed a silent sigh of relief, very glad that the risk she'd taken in coming here had panned out.

"Thanks," she hovered by the bed.

"You wanna join? Or did you wanna go talk on the couch…canoe?" he corrected realizing the lack of furniture he owned. He really had to do something to rectify that. "We can take a blanket?"

She smiled, he really did know her well.

"I'll join you if that's ok?" she asked, "Kathy's currently occupying the canoe."

"Ah," he glanced at the luminous numbers on his nightstand. "She'll be watching her late-night reruns."

"Yeah," Monica commented in what she hoped was a light way, as she climbed into his bed, "she's surprised you're not out their watching it with her…"

"I told you," he could hear her silent question, "if there's even a small chance you'll be in a relationship with me, I'll wait. I'm not interested in her."

"Just like that?" she asked softly, "you seemed to really like her."

He let a little chuckle, "you should have seen what was going on in my head the last few months whenever I was around you," he confessed, "any feelings I had towards Kathy can't even compare to the torch I've been carrying for you."

"Really?" she asked.

"Uh huh, I promise," he nudged her shoulder with his. "It's like with Ross and Julie and Rachel. There was only ever gonna be one option."

Monica sighed heavily, "but look how that turned out. I've been thinking lots about them and comparing them with our situation."

"Me too," he admitted, "but I came to a realization."

"Care to share?"

"They aren't us," he said simply, causing her to frown.

"That's it?"

He rolled his eyes and clarified, "I'm not Ross and you aren't Rachel. If you think of all the arguments and drama they had before the whole 'break' thing even came about..." he winced with an uncomfortable shrug, not wanting to insult their friends. "They had a lot of issues with their relationship before it happened. Their friendship wasn't as strong as ours is. We'd be going into this with 9 plus years of friendship. I'm closer with you than anybody."

"And me with you," she confirmed thoughtfully.

"We wouldn't be constantly nit-picking, arguing or have constant mistrust issues. We're best friends, we already know, trust and love each other. As much as I love Rachel and I'm not saying this in a bad way but you're nowhere as near high maintenance or… _princessy_ as she is."

"I won't tell her you said that," she smiled bumping his shoulder with hers.

"I mean," he grinned back, "I couldn't imagine ever wanting to be in a relationship like theirs. It was a lot of hard work, they're 2 very strong-willed, very different people and it just didn't work. We aren't them and I know you and I are very different people but where Ross and Rachel were like fire and gasoline, we'd actually...complement one another."

"You think so?"

"I _know_ so," he grinned, "we do it all the time as we are. You get wound up and high strung over something and I'll break a joke and give you a hug and help you to calm down and not to worry so much. We balance each other out."

"True," she mused, thinking just how right he was.

"I think that's what you need in a successful relationship," he admitted. "I think if you're too alike things will get boring, if you're both too intense things will get explosive, but if you can find someone who compliments you. Someone that knows your quirks and your moods and instead of making fun or deliberately stoking them, accepts them and maintains them where necessary...that's gotta be pretty perfect."

"Wow," Monica said for the second time. "Since when did you get so grown up about this kinda stuff?"

"Since I fell in love with you," he murmured then grimaced, "sorry, I shouldn't have said that. I promised to give you time to think about it all and I'm not trying to-"

"Hey," she interrupted him, "its fine. I'm the one that came into your bedroom in the middle of the night. I wanted an honest conversation, so don't ever feel bad for saying stuff like that."

"Ok," he smiled before his face cracked open with a large yawn, which he tried to hide behind his hand, "sorry."

"No, that's ok," she sighed. "I should probably try and get some sleep too."

"Wanna sleep here?" he risked asking quietly. "We've fallen asleep together before and we're fully-clothed."

She had an internal debate for a moment. Part of her knowing it might not be the wisest decision but another, larger part of her was pointing out that if she wanted to see what being in a relationship with Chandler would be like, sleeping next to him and waking up beside him tomorrow morning could only help. Plus she wouldn't have to see Kathy again.

She just didn't want to risk hurting him.

"You sure?"

"Uh huh," he offered her a lop-sided grin as his sock-covered foot nudged hers, "positive."

Something about his sleepy-cute look made him impossible to say no to. Not that she wanted to say no anyhow, not really.

"Ok," she made her decision, "thanks Chandler."

His smile was large and instant. He knew he shouldn't get his hopes up. He knew he was playing a dangerous game in which he stood to get his heart broken. But it felt right. It felt right that he should try and help his best friend make this decision, despite whatever she chose. It could only help make their friendship strong, strong enough for whatever the outcome.

Monica settled down under his covers. As her head lay on the pillow she inhaled deeply, finding the scent she found there comforting. She felt surrounded by him and slowly relaxed. Her whirling mind slowing down and a contented peace flowing through her. She knew it was only temporary but right now she didn't care.

She heard him whisper 'good night' to her and she mumbled something back in response, slumber already finding her.

Chandler stayed awake for a while longer, listening to her soft breathing. He savored it, trying to commit everything about this moment to his permanent memory. If she decided against a relationship with him, which she might very well do, this may be the last time she ever shared his bed like this.

He wanted to remember this forever.

* * *

TBC...


	4. Chapter 4

Chandler was brought to consciousness by a knocking sound. He frowned, somewhat confused.

"Hey," he heard seconds later as Joey walked into his room. "Woah, Monica? What's she doing here?"

Chandler's eyes shot open and he looked over at the woman next to him. It hadn't been a dream.

" _She_ couldn't sleep," Monica answered tiredly, "so I hung out with Chandler and must have fallen asleep."

"Oh," Joey shrugged easily. He was well aware of how close the two of them were; they were Monica and Chandler.

"Did you want something, Joe?" Chandler asked with a yawn.

"Yeah," he sounded down. Immediately Chandler was more awake and sharing a glance with Monica.

"You ok?" she asked.

"Kathy dumped me," he sighed sitting on the edge of Chandler's bed; he missed the looks being exchanged by the other occupants of the room.

"When?" Chandler asked.

"This morning," he sighed, "she said she couldn't see this going anywhere."

"I'm sorry," Chandler offered with a wince.

"Are you ok?" Monica asked gently, leaning over to stroke his arm.

"Yeah, I guess," he shrugged. "I mean, it's not like we'd been going out for long but I really liked her."

"Sorry Joey," she sighed, "but look at it this way. You enjoy being single right?"

"I guess," he pouted.

"And you like getting to date lots of different women and sleeping with them?"

"Hell yeh!" He grinned.

"Then don't give that up for just anybody," Monica advised. "I know you wanted a relationship but it has to be with the right person. Don't stop enjoying the benefits of being single and getting to play the field, unless it's for the right woman. Kathy wasn't the right one and it's better to find out now instead of months down the line…think of all the women you'd miss out on."

"Yeah, I guess," he seemed a lot brighter and Chandler swallowed, looking down. He was always amazed at how naturally Monica could give good advice but at the same time he was a little worried that the speech had also been for his benefit. Did she enjoy being single and didn't want to throw that away on _him_?

"How about you go shower and give me a chance to wake up. I'll go cook your favorite chocolate and syrup pancakes?"

"With cream?" he looked excited.

"Sure, why not?"

"That sounds amazing," he beamed, jumping up from the bed, "thanks guys."

He left quickly, oblivious to the tension he left behind him.

"So…" Chandler offered, wetting his lips and trying to think of how to start this conversation.

"I know I keep asking this," Monica knew _exactly_ how she wanted this conversation to start, "and I promise this is the last time I'll mention her, but with Kathy now being available, does that change anything?"

"No," Chandler answered quickly, confident of the answer. All he'd thought about and dreamt about last night was the woman beside him.

He watched as a smile broke out on her face and he couldn't help but answer with one of his own.

"Thanks," she sounded almost shy, "I won't bring it up again."

"It's ok," he reassured her. "I can understand. So how are you doing? Managed to get some sleep?"

"Yeah," she grinned stretching, not noticing his eyes following the bottom of her sweater as it lifted with her, revealing a flash of skin. "I slept really well, thank you. What about you? Sorry I burst in like that."

"I told you, you're welcome here anytime," he promised, "whatever you decide."

She swallowed, looking down and nodded. She knew she had a decision looming over her but when she was with him like this it was easy to forget.

"Thanks," she smiled, before glancing around his bedroom. "I guess I should be going, those pancakes won't cook themselves."

He offered a tug of a smile as he stood up as well.

"What are you going to tell Rachel?" he asked curiously.

"The truth," she shrugged, "I already told her about our talk yesterday."

"Really?" he asked surprised.

"Of course, she came rushing out the second you left wanting to know what was going on."

"Aren't you worried she'll tell people?" he asked. "I don't want everyone knowing this. I don't want to go down the public entertainment route that she and Ross did."

"I know," she reassured coming around the bed to stand in front of him, placing her hands on his chest. The t-shirt was soft and warm under her fingers, "and it won't. She won't tell anyone," he raised his eyebrows unconvinced so she continued, "when it's an important secret she never tells. She likes gossip and drama but never with the serious stuff. She'll keep it a secret."

"Ok," he swallowed, having stopped listening to her. He wasn't able to concentrate with her so close, her hands on his chest. They were in their sleepwear, in his bedroom and it would be so easy to just claim her lips right now. To kiss her and lead her back to his bed and try to convince her in an entirely different way that they'd be so good together.

Whether it was something in his eyes or if she felt it too, she just stared at him, her gaze dropping down to his lips. He held his breath.

"Can I kiss you?" she whispered softly. She didn't want to risk hurting him further but right now she desperately wanted to see what it would be like to kiss him properly. Her heart was beating rapidly in her chest and she wondered if they'd have as much chemistry between them as she suspected.

Unable to speak he simply nodded. He told himself to keep breathing as she leaned closer. He was determined to use all the self-restraint he had to let her lead and set the pace. He felt her breath against his lips and closed his eyes as she started to close the gap between them.

Their lips met and he groaned softly. He'd dreamt of this moment for so long and it was so much better in reality. He felt her press her lips harder, more demanding as her hands moved up his chest and around his neck.

He met her touch for touch, matching her pressure and passion, still desperately trying to let her set the pace. When she deepened the kiss though, he didn't hold back anymore; he couldn't. His arms wrapped around her petite waist pulling her tight against him, her quiet moan doing something to his insides. It was passionate, thrilling and he couldn't get enough of her.

Eventually, the need to breathe caused them to pull apart. He kept his arms around her as he took her in post-kiss. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes wide and sparkling, hair mussed as she tried to get her breath back. She'd never looked so beautiful.

"Wow," she smiled looking up at him, her eyes sparkling, "that answers that question."

Knowing he was probably crossing a line but not caring, he brought one of his hands up to run through her short-hair, trying to make it slightly less disheveled. With no complaints coming, he let his fingers linger in the soft strands before grazing an ear. His hand then gently moved to trace a flushed cheek before gently caressing her neck.

He felt her swallow before they mutually leant forward and shared another kiss. Their lips crashed together in an explosion of passion. It felt so good and so right, that he needed all his will-power to pull away and not try to take it any further. He knew she didn't want to rush things and he was pretty certain sleeping together before a first date wouldn't be considered 'going slow'.

He stepped away, physical distance helping as he ran a hand through his own mussed hair. "Sorry," he whispered slightly, "you, uh, were saying something about a question?"

She smiled at him tenderly. She loved the bed-head look on him, loved the intimacy of being in his bedroom in casual nightwear at this time in the morning. She loved that none of this felt weird or awkward. That had to be a sign; a good sign. She couldn't imagine being like this with any other guy.

"Mon?"

"Huh?" she realized she'd zoned out.

"Questions? Answers?" he prompted, "What did you mean?"

"Oh," she blushed, "it answered the chemistry question; I think it's safe to say we have that base covered."

Chandler smiled nodding, desperately trying not to think of the other bases he'd love to get to with her.

"Right," she visibly pulled herself together, "I really need to go. I'll see you in a bit?"

"Yeh," he grinned softly, watching as she left his room.

He groaned flopping back onto his bed. He knew she hadn't promised anything and this could still turn into nothing. Getting used to sleeping next to her and sharing kisses would only make her rejection that much harder. He definitely couldn't risk having sex with her, having a glimpse of how perfect it could all be and then have it ripped away.

No, he didn't think he'd be able to rebuild himself after that.

Scrubbing a hand across his face he forced himself to get up and wander into the living room. He saw Joey sitting in one of the patio chairs, the chick and duck next to him. It was then he decided he needed to be honest with his roommate; he didn't want this Kathy-thing ever coming back to haunt him.

His friendship with Joey was too important.

They had to talk.

* * *

TBC...

A/N- thank you all so much for the reviews. Each one is much appreciated :o)


	5. Chapter 5

A/N – I have a confession. I totally forgot Monica was unemployed at this point in the show…opps…but as this is AU just imagine she got her job at the restaurant...sorry!

* * *

"Hey," Chandler greeted, collapsing in the tatty chair next to his roommate, "you doing ok?"

"Yeh," Joey nodded, "I was a little bummed but it's not like we were that serious and Monica's advice was good. I'm thinking we hit a strip club, just to make sure I'm fully over it, then I'll hook up with someone tonight. That should do it."

Chandler smiled slightly, shaking his head at his friend's easy logic. He wished his love life were that simple.

"I, uh, I have something I need to tell you," Chandler admitted, "and I wanted you to hear it from me."

Joey frowned, Chandler rarely used his serious tone, "what's going on?"

"Ok, look…" Chandler swallowed, trying to work out how to tell him this, "when I first met Kathy I had a little…well kinda big…crush on her and the others all knew about it."

"Really?" Joey frowned, "you liked her?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "I, uh, didn't do anything or say anything to her though, I promise; I'd never do that to you," he hoped that were true.

"Oh," Joey mused, then to Chandler's disbelief merely shrugged, "that's ok then, as long as you didn't _actually_ do anything."

"I didn't."

Joey nodded. Chandler closed his eyes relieved. He didn't know if he deserved Joey's easy forgiveness but he'd take it. He wanted to just draw a line under the whole Kathy incident and focus on Monica.

"Do you wanna ask her out?" Joey asked causing Chandler to open his eyes and look at him.

"What?"

"I'm not seeing her," he shrugged again, "if you like her and want to ask her out you're welcome to."

"Thanks," Chandler frowned, surprised at how simply Joey would have let Chandler have her….if he'd wanted her, "but I'm not interested in her anymore."

Joey frowned, "already?"

Chandler studied his friend a moment. Should he tell this to him? If Monica was talking to Rachel it was only fair he confided in Joey, right? It was more _his_ secret anyhow and it would be _him_ needing comfort if she decided not to take the next step in their relationship.

What the heck.

"I'm completely head-over-heels in love with Monica."

He watched as Joey jerked back in his seat eyes wide.

"Monica?"

"Ye-ah," he wet his lips nervously.

"Seriously?"

He nodded.

"Woah," Joey blinked. "I didn't see that coming! Since when?"

"A long time," he confessed with a wistful smile. "A _very_ long time. It started out as a little crush, which I tried to ignore but it just kept getting stronger until…boom."

"Boom?" He raised an eyebrow to which Chandler just shrugged apologetically. He didn't know how else to describe it and was pretty sure his friend had never been in love like this.

"Does she know?" he asked, "I mean earlier, were you…?"

"Yes and no," Chandler shook his head. "She knows but only found out yesterday. She came over last night to talk some things over."

"Oh," he still looked confused, "so are you guys getting together?"

That was the million dollar question.

He sighed heavily closing his eyes as hope and longing shot through him, "I hope so, Joe," he confessed, "I really do…but it's complicated."

"How come?"

He opened his eyes and looked over to his roommate. Where to start?

"It's a long story…"

* * *

Half an hour later the boys entered apartment 20 and were hit with the smell of pancakes.

"There you are," Monica smiled at them, her eyes lingering on Chandler for slightly longer than necessary. Her thoughts going back to the amazing kisses they'd shared earlier, her lips still tingling. "We were going to send out a search party."

"Yeah," Phoebe joined in, "we were worried, it's not like Joey to miss out on pancakes."

"We were having 'guy time'," Joey shrugged, sitting at the table, smiling as a plate of pancakes were placed in front of him.

"Guy time?" Ross frowned from the couch. "Why wasn't I invited?"

"You can come next time," Chandler soothed sarcastly, "we're gonna drink beer and hunt some squirrels…I'll send you a memo," Ross narrowed his eyes and shot him a glare as Phoebe muttered "poor squirrels". Chandler rolled his eyes at the pair of them, "We were talking about Kathy," he admitted, shooting a look to Monica hoping she wouldn't misinterpret anything. "Her and Joey broke up and I wanted to let him know that I used to have a crush on her."

Monica seemed to relax slightly and Chandler offered her a little smile. To his relief she returned it.

" _Used_ to?" Ross frowned. "As in you don't anymore? Since when?"

"Yesterday," Rachel said, "opps, aw crap!"

Chandler glared at her and then raised an 'I-told-ya-so' eyebrow to Monica who ignored him.

"How do _you_ know?" Ross queried.

"We talked yesterday," Rachel said truthfully, to which Chandler could only nod.

"Wait," Ross frowned, "you've spoken to Rachel and Joey and not me?"

"He spoke to me too," Monica added smiling, unable to resist any chance at winding up her brother.

"What?" Ross turned to Chandler pissed. "You've talked to everyone but me? I thought we were best friends?"

"I haven't spoken to Phoebe," he offered lamely.

"And that won't be forgotten," Phoebe warned in a stern voice, making Chandler frown worriedly.

"So you guys are ok?" Monica asked Joey, trying to help Chandler vacate the hot seat.

"Yep," Joey shrugged still digging into his pancakes, "we're fine. Oh, Ross we're heading to a strip club in a bit to help me get over Kathy. Wanna come?"

"Uh huh," Ross accepted eagerly, not noticing Chandler's wince and the guilty look he shot Monica's way.

"A strip club?" Rachel asked, "This early?"

"Breakfast buffet," Joey shrugged, around a mouthful of pancakes. "You can pay extra for whipped cream."

Everyone pulled a face.

"What?" he protested.

Shaking her head Monica started collecting her bits, "right, I have to be at work."

Chandler watched her grab her coat and they shared a brief look before she bid her farewells and left.

"I've, uh, just gotta get something from the apartment," Chandler said abruptly, making up an excuse for the sake of only two people as he quickly darted out of the door and after Monica.

"Monica!" he shouted, dashing down the stairs and catching her in the entrance way.

"Hey?" she frowned surprised, "what's the matter?"

"I just wanted to apologize…for the strip club," he said, slightly out of breath, "Joey really wants to go and I feel partially responsible for the whole Kathy thing."

He watched in surprised as she stepped up into his embrace, her arms going around his neck as his hesitantly settled on her hips. "God, you're cute," she smiled, causing him to smile too, realizing he wasn't in trouble, "we aren't even officially dating yet."

The way she said 'yet' caused his stomach to do a little flip.

"But thank you," she continued, "I really appreciate that…" she looked at him carefully, "which you knew because you know me so well," she realized. He knew the thought of him with strippers would bug her and had gone out of his way to reassure her…they really weren't Ross and Rachel.

He nodded and was amazed when she reached up and kissed him tenderly on the lips. It was soft and sweet and lingered for just a moment making his toes curl and heart ache. It was over much too quickly.

"Thanks Chandler," she stepped away, "I really have to go to work now. Have fun…just not too much."

He laughed softly, his fingers forming the scouts honor sign, as he watched her leave. He let out a wistful sigh before walking back up the stairs. He entered his apartment, deciding to grab a quick shower, slightly surprised to see Joey standing there.

"Everything alright?" Joey asked concerned. "You took off quite quick."

"Yeah," Chandler assured "I, uh, I just wanted to make sure Monica was alright…with the strip club."

Joey laughed shaking his head, "you aren't even together and she's got you under her thumb."

"No she hasn't," he protested weakly, although in truth he didn't mind; he'd love to be under any part of her. "I just don't want to do anything to upset her right now. I don't want to blow my chance with her over something like this."

Joey finally nodded, clapping an arm on Chandler's shoulder, "my boy's got it bad."

Chandler frowned, slightly disturbed by his choice of wording but just nodded.

"She called me 'sweet' though," he informed him proudly, "and kissed me again."

"Really?" Joey grinned, "that's great. Well, not the 'sweet' thing but the kissing's always good."

"What's wrong with 'sweet'?" Chandler asked with a frown.

"It's not exactly manly is it?" Joey pointed out.

"Joey, this is Monica, ok? She _knows_ me, she knows I'm not manly. Trust me, her thinking I'm 'sweet' is a very good thing."

His roommate still looked unconvinced but shrugged anyhow, "so, you think you're gonna get together?"

Chandler sighed and shrugged, "I hope so, but at the same time I really I don't want to get my hopes up. I've liked her for too long and if she decides I'm not good enough," he shrugged slightly, "I actually don't know what I'm gonna do."

Joey winced, seeing how much his friend wanted this, "I'm sure that won't happen," he promised, "she spent the night in your bed and you've kissed. It's gonna happen... but if it doesn't I'll take you to lots of strip clubs. As many as you need."

Chandler laughed and cracked a smile, "thanks man that makes me feel _so_ much better."

"Any time," Joey nodded missing his sarcasm. "Now hurry up and shower cause I wanna see go see strippers."

* * *

Chandler sighed as he watched Joey get taken away for yet another lap dance as he glanced at his watch.

"You alright?" Ross asked with a frown, surprised by his friend's lack of enthusiasm.

"Sure," he lied badly.

"Are you sure you're over Kathy?" Ross persisted, "You know, if you spoke to Joey I bet he'd be happy for you to ask her out."

Why were the Gellers of this universe so obsessed about him and Kathy?

"He already offered," Chandler told him, "and I turned him down because I'm not interested in her."

"Why not? What's changed so suddenly?"

Chandler sighed, debating what to tell him. He couldn't tell him the complete truth because he didn't want Ross to get stuck in the middle should she decide against trying a relationship. That wouldn't be fair on him.

"There's another girl," he said carefully, very aware he was talking to the said girl's brother, "one that I've _really_ liked for a long time, a lot longer than Kathy. She recently found out I like her and there's a small chance she may like me too. She's spending the next couple of days thinking about it."

"Really? Who is it?" Ross asked, surprised that this was the first he'd heard about it.

Chandler winced, "I don't want to name names in case she decides she doesn't like me like that."

Ross frowned, "come on, man, it's me."

He didn't want to tell Ross that that was part of the problem. If Monica wasn't his sister he'd probably have told him a while back.

"Look," he compromised, "I promise, if things go in my favor, I'll tell you who she is before I tell Phoebe."

Ross chuckled and nodded as he took a sip of his drink, "deal."

They sat in silence for a moment, Chandler not paying attention to the jiggling flesh in front of him.

"What if she's like most women and decides she doesn't want you, will you still tell me?" He watched surprised as Chandler's face fall, "Sorry, I was just kidding," he quickly tried to reassure, watching as Chandler half-heartedly shrugged. Ross frowned realizing something, "You _really_ like this girl don't you?" It was rare to his friend like this.

"Yeah," Chandler confessed softly, "completely in love with her."

Wow. Ross raised his eyebrows, "Do you think she'll go for it?" he asked curiously, wishing he knew who it was but respecting his friend's privacy.

"God, I hope so," Chandler swallowed, "but realistically I don't know. It could go either way."

His mind played back to their early morning talk, to their kisses and their conversation before she left for work that morning. All seemed positive but he wouldn't, couldn't get his hopes up. There were lots of reasons why someone like her wouldn't want someone like him.

"I hope it works out, Chandler," Ross said, patting his arm, "I'll be there either way ok?"

"Sure thanks," he tried to smile but knew it probably looked more like a grimace.

He was grateful to see Joey return and used that opportunity to escape to the bar. Seeing all the lonely drunk old men perve over these women only made Chandler want Monica even more. He didn't want to end up old and alone, having to pay for his kicks before returning to an empty apartment. He wanted to just be with her _so_ badly.

He just needed to prove to her that he was worth it; that he was worth the risk. Is that what he should be doing this weekend? Instead of letting her have time to think and no doubt think of all the negative points, should he be demonstrating to her how good they'd be together?

He knew they'd be damn good together if she gave him the chance…he just had to show her that.

And he would.

* * *

TBC...

I hope you're all still enjoying this. Thank you for your reviews! Much appreciated.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N- a huge thank you to everyone for reading and reviewing. All are very appreciated :o)

* * *

Chandler eyed the payphone by the door of the strip club. Should he call her at work? No, that would look desperate and needy. Whilst both desperate and needy were specialties of his, he didn't want to emphasize those particular qualities to her right now; not when she was making this kinda decision. No, he didn't want her to think that if she dated him he'd be constantly calling and harassing her. If he was going to phone her he needed a good reason…

A huge smile lit up his face. Monica was on the lunch shift, she'd be finished by 7. He could show her what a date with Chandler Bing would be like; this could be the perfect opportunity. He could take her somewhere fancy and spoil her rotten. He'd be a perfect gentleman but tipsy enough to be willing to dance with her. He'd love the chance to dance with her, to hold her close. Maybe they'd even share a few more kisses…

Decided, he raced over to the unoccupied phone and dialed her work number from memory. He was getting excited, over-excited about the prospect of going on a date with her. Images of the two of them filled his head. It could be fun and romantic and possibly the best night of his life. This could really work in his favor; if she had fun on one date with him, she'd hopefully be able to imagine going on more dates with him…

It was simply perfect.

"Hello?"

"Hey Mon," he smiled glad she'd answered and glad she couldn't see the goofy grin on his face.

"Hey everything alright? You still at the strip club?"

"Yeah, Joey hasn't quite had his fill yet," Chandler admitted, still grinning. "I was just ringing to see if you fancied dinner tonight? There's this new restaurant on-"

"Oh," he could sense her tone in that one word. He swallowed, his grin fast disappearing. "I, uh, can't do tonight and I'm not sure-"

"That's ok," he cut in quickly, his heart sinking. Why had he let himself get so over-excited and caught in the moment? That wasn't him. He didn't usually do well at optimism and right now he wished he hadn't made an exception for this.

"We've already got a girly night planned and…"

"Got it," he swallowed, his eyes squeezing shut as he tried to keep his voice steady as disappointment rushed through him, "no worries."

"I just-"

"Don't worry," he said quickly; he didn't want to hear her rejection. What had changed since this morning? Had she spent the last few hours thinking? Had he got in there too late? "I understand," he lied.

"It's not that-"

"I've gotta go," he said quickly, praying that she couldn't hear the pain in his voice, "someone wants the phone. Have a good shift."

He heard her saying his name as he clicked the receiver down quietly and rested his forehead against it for a moment. He shouldn't have allowed himself to get his hopes up. He'd known all along that it was unlikely she'd go for him. He shouldn't have been getting excited over imaginary dates; he should have been building the walls up and strengthening his heart for her likely rejection.

Idiot.

He walked to the bar and ordered a round of beers. Slowly, he headed back to his friends and silently offered them a drink each.

"That's more like it," Joey exclaimed happily accepting his offering. "I thought it was 'too early to drink'."

"I've changed my mind," he muttered, taking a long swig, closing his eyes as he savored the cool liquid.

Joey and Ross exchanged a worried look.

"You ok?" Ross hesitantly asked.

"No," Chandler sighed.

"What happened?" Joey probed, he'd only gone to the bar.

"I thought I'd phone her, the woman," he clarified, "and now I feel like crap and wished I hadn't bothered."

"What happened?"

"I asked if she wanted to go on a date tonight…thought I should try and fight for her, show her that we'd be perfect for each other and have a good time…"

"She turned you down?" Ross guessed.

"Yep," he scoffed, drinking more, "I can't believe I misread the situation so much," he berated himself.

He knew she hadn't promised anything and he'd been the one to promise to give her time, but he'd really thought that one date could have been amazing. That if she gave him just one chance to prove himself he could show her how amazing 'they' could be.

"You didn't," Joey insisted, "after what happened this morning I can't believe she doesn't like you. You must have just misunderstood?"

Chandler scoffed and shrugged as Ross' pager went off. Ross glanced at it not recognizing the number so ignored it, "What happened this morning?" he asked intrigued.

"We kissed," Chandler sighed, "well, she asked if she could kiss me and I wasn't going to say no. It was amazing; the best first kiss in the history of kisses..." he trailed off remembering how her lips had felt against his. He prayed that wasn't the last time he'd ever taste them but feared it might be.

Ross' pager beeped impatiently again.

"I know she's still deciding," Chandler admitted, "and I totally respect that, it's a big decision, but she _must_ have felt something in those kisses. They were incredible-"

"Kisses? Plural?" Ross asked.

"Oh yeah," he wore a ghost of a smile as he remembered this morning.

The pager went off again and Ross sighed, "sorry, man, I better…" he gestured in the vague direction of the payphone.

"No worries," Chandler dismissed, "we'll still both be here, the man dumped this morning and the man waiting to be dumped next."

"Hey!" Joey protested as Ross left them to it, "I wasn't _dumped_."

Chandler just raised an eyebrow at him.

"Ok, fine," he said, "I was but don't say it so loudly, ok?"

"Really? I thought you might go with the sympathy card, lots of woman dig that."

Joey just stared at him, "pity sex? Really?"

"It's still sex," Chandler protested weakly.

"Joey Tribbiani doesn't need pity sex," he continued, "I can get regular sex just fine. I can also get some pretty _irregular_ sex too, if ya know what I mean. One time this chick wanted to-"

"Please just stop talking," Chandler begged, extremely thankful as Ross rejoined them.

"Everything ok?" Joey asked Ross.

"Yeh," he answered sounding confused, "it was actually a message for Chandler."

Chandler jerked in surprise looking over at him, "huh?"

"Yup, my sister wants me to tell you you're a doofus," at Chandler's blank stare, Ross sighed and continued. "She didn't mean it how it sounded, she's sorry she's busy tonight but could do tomorrow lunch but she wants to catch up with you after the girls have left, so stay up…"

Ross watched as his friend's face transformed into a large smile, "really?" he asked hopefully.

"Uh huh," he promised, clearing his throat slightly. "Not, uh, that it wasn't a really hard code to crack but…Monica? Since when?"

"She wants to go out tomorrow?" Chandler asked ignoring Ross' questions, "she actually said that?"

"That and a few other choice words for hanging up on her," he muttered.

"You hung up on her?" Joey questioned, whacking his chest, "Dude, you're trying to win her over!"

"I know," he shrugged, absently rubbing his chest where Joey had punched him, "I didn't mean to and that's not important. She wants to have a lunch date tomorrow. She wants to see me tonight."

"Wow," Ross commented, taking in the complete change in his friend's demeanor, "you _really_ do like her don't you? I can't believe I didn't see this coming."

"I kinda had to hide it," Chandler confessed, still looking incredibly happy, "and until yesterday I'd done quite well. Then bang, I let something slip in front of Rachel and now 5 out of the 6 of us know," he knew that was a little unfair, probably a lot unfair – Rachel hadn't actually told anyone. It was just a coincidence this time…nothing ever stayed secret around that girl.

"You hid it well," Ross agreed, "both of you. So Monica's actually deciding this weekend if she wants a relationship with you? This is nuts"

"I know," Chandler grinned, "it's all pretty surreal to be honest. I've wanted this for such a long time and the fact it may actually happen. It is crazy...but it may not happen, its lots for her to think about…lots for me to think about. I think I'm gonna head off."

"What?!" Joey protested. "There's naked women here, Chandler, why would you wanna go anywhere else?"

"The last few days have been quite 'heavy'," he justified, "and I didn't get much sleep last night...nothing like that," he hastened to reassure Ross. "I just need some time to chill."

"Chill here!" Joey argued to which he shook his head.

Reaching into his pocket Chandler pulled out his wallet and grabbed a couple of $50s before handing them over to his suddenly smiling friend.

"Here, change these up and go nuts ok?" He glanced at Ross who nodded slightly, "I'll see you guys later."

"See ya."

Chandler welcomed the fresh air that hit him as he exited the club. It had felt wrong to be bored when surrounded by so many half-naked women; something he knew he'd never be able to confess to Joey. He just had one woman on his mind, and what an amazing woman she was. He was so pleased that she'd paged Ross; that she had known his insecurities would cause him to immediately jump to the wrong conclusion. It was a good job she knew him as well as he knew her.

He started the short walk home, thoughts of Mon running through his mind. He was going on a date with her tomorrow. She wanted to go on a date with him. That had to mean something.

Where could he take her? A friendly café, a fancy restaurant or something in-between? There were so many options in Manhattan but he knew he had to get this just right. She knew _him_ and he wasn't trying to impress her like strangers on a first date. He just wanted to show her how much fun they could have together. How right they'd be together.

It wasn't long before he'd reached the coffee house and the skies started to cloud over. It would rain soon and he'd managed to escape it and stay dry. Amazed by even this amount of luck he headed to the apartment entrance when he heard his name.

"Chandler!"

He froze and slowly turned to face Kathy.

A far as luck was concerned – he'd rather had got wet.

* * *

TBC...


	7. Chapter 7

A/N- thank you for the reviews! They are a great motivation :o)

This chapter's a little longer...but what the heck...it's the weekend!

* * *

"Hey," Chandler answered awkwardly.

"Can we talk?" Kathy asked, her eyes wide and honest.

He didn't want to, _really_ didn't want to but knew he owed her that much. He guessed talking to her would also be the final step in getting complete closure with the situation and that he really _did_ want.

"Sure," he gestured his head towards the coffee house, not wanting her in his apartment; that would be too much.

Following her in, he gestured to a table of two by the window. It would have felt wrong having this inevitable conversation on the usual couch. Shucking off their coats they settled into their seats as Gunther came over and took their orders. Chandler was grateful for the quick service, although it didn't stop him feeling any less awkward and uncomfortable. He hated these types of conversation at the best of times.

How was it though, that only yesterday he'd had the most honest grown up conversation he'd ever had in his entire adult life, and that hadn't felt half as awkward. This should be easy in comparison but then he supposed this was the opposite conversation to the one him and Monica shared. Instead of confessing his love he was going to be confessing to not having romantic feelings.

He could feel her studying him and swallowed, deciding he had to get this over and done with. Like a Band-Aid, quick and painless, "so…." He hesitated unsure what to say next; maybe not quite as quick as a Band-Aid but at least it was a start.

"So," Kathy picked up, "I, uh, I guess you heard about me and Joey breaking up?"

She was straight to the point and he winced.

"Yeh, uh, I did, sorry…."

"Don't be, he's a great guy but I couldn't see it going anywhere."

Chandler simply nodded; he hadn't been able to imagine the two of them long term either.

"The reason I wanted to speak with you is because I, uh, well I felt _something_ towards you and I kinda thought you did too…"

He winced, struggling to find the right words, "I-"

"I know I didn't imagine it," she said quietly looking down at the table.

He sighed, "you didn't," he confessed. "I _liked_ you," he hoped using past tense would help drop a subtle hint, "but it was for the wrong reasons. My head wasn't in the right place and I'm sorry if you interpreted that as more."

She raised her eyes looking at him, holding his gaze for a moment.

"There's someone else isn't there?" Her tone made it more a statement than a question.

He nodded, "I'm sorry you got caught up in this," he said sincerely.

"It's Monica right?"

He closed his eyes. How had this gone from the world's best-kept secret, to public knowledge? He decided just to nod.

"I thought so," she admitted, "when I saw her go into your bedroom I _knew,_ you know? But I just wanted to make sure. I'd really kick myself if I had just made an assumption and threw this opportunity away."

He nodded in understanding, his face apologetic.

"So you're definitely taken?" she prodded. "It's not like me and Joey were?"

"I'm taken," he confirmed.

He didn't know for sure either way but he knew he didn't want her to get her hopes up or wait for him. Looking at her he realized how much of his initial feelings of 'love' had disappeared now that he wasn't desperately trying to get over Monica. Kathy was a great woman and maybe in a different time or place they would have worked, really made a go of it but not in this universe; not whilst Monica existed.

"Ok," she puffed out a breath, slightly embarrassed. "I had to try."

"I understand," he promised offering a hint of a smile.

"She's a lucky woman," she commented standing up.

He didn't agree or disagree. He just stood up, mirroring her.

"Well, take care of yourself, I guess," she stepped towards him, a little closer than he'd like but he stood his ground curious.

"You too," he offered, feeling very uncomfortable. Should he hug her? Shake hands?

"Can I kiss you?" she asked surprising him. "Just to see?"

The irony of Kathy using the same words as Monica had this morning wasn't lost on him. With Monica he'd desperately wanted her to kiss him, unable to resist her…but he didn't have that desire with Kathy. He didn't want to kiss her.

"I-I don't think that would be a good idea," he stated, this time taking a step back. The last lips on his had been Monica's and he didn't want that to ever change.

She nodded in disappointment, her hand coming out and caressing his arm softly, "Ok, I get that. See ya around Chandler."

"You too," he agreed watching her leave the coffee house.

He'd done it. Had drawn the line under the whole Kathy-incident. Letting out a large breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding he scrubbed a hand through his hair and looked over to the couch to see if it was still free, tempted to move over to it when he noticed two pairs of eyes on him.

Crap.

Phoebe and Rachel sat very interested on the orange couch and with a heavy sigh he grabbed his coffee and headed over to them. It was going to be one of those days.

"What were you doing with Kathy?" Rachel asked, a hard edge to her voice which he understood. It was nice that she was so loyal to Monica.

"She bumped into me," he sighed collapsing heavily into the armchair, "she wanted to talk…about stuff."

"And what did you tell her?" Rachel persisted.

"That I wasn't interested," he shot an uncertain look to Phoebe, not wanting to reveal too much.

"I know all about it," Phoebe commented casually, to which he rolled his eyes.

"How?" he almost whined.

"Friends talk," she pointed out, "and don't forget my psychic abilities."

"Oh, of course not," he muttered sarcastically.

"So how did she take it?" Phoebe asked, her psychic abilities obviously conveniently turned off, "it looked quite intense."

"It's never the easiest conversation," he admitted, "but it's for the best. She'd already guessed about Monica anyhow."

"Monica?" Phoebe asked surprised. "What's it got to do with her?"

Wide-eyed, he looked quickly to Rachel then back to her, "you said you knew!"

"About Joey and Kathy breaking up and the whole crush thing," she clarified, "What's going on with you and Monica? What does Kathy know?"

He sighed, closing his eyes and resting his head against the back of his chair. 6 out of 6 and this time he had no one to blame but himself.

"You wanna do the honors, Rach?" he muttered, slowly standing up, "I'm gonna head upstairs."

"Sure," she agreed eagerly, loving this sort of gossip; it was her specialty.

He started to head towards the door, "oh," he turned back to them, "you got a girl night tonight?"

"Yep," Rachel nodded eagerly, "cocktails, movies and lots of girly talk."

"Can you do me a favor?" he asked, "talk encouragingly about me. Emphasize any good things you can think of and not just point out my many flaws?"

"What's it worth?" Rachel challenged.

"Whatever you want," he answered honestly.

"I was kidding, Chandler," she promised. "Now hurry up and leave so we can talk about you."

Simply nodding and accepting the inevitable he waved them goodbye over his shoulder as he followed Rachel's request.

* * *

"You could do a lot worse than Chandler," Phoebe pointed out to her friend as she slumped on the couch, a brightly-colored cocktail in hand. "He's a sweet guy, a little needy at times, but sweet."

"And he's cute," Rachel pointed out, remembering her promise to him.

"I know," Monica smiled, he was cute and sweet. She knew that. "It's not about that, it's about whether it's worth the risk. We've been so close for so long…I couldn't stand the idea of losing that."

Rachel glanced at Phoebe before looking back to her roommate, "so you do actually like him that way?"

"Oh yeah," Monica grinned, taking a sip of her third margarita, "and after those kisses-phew!"

"Really?" Phoebe asked excitedly, "he's a good kisser?"

"Uh huh!" Monica confessed, "it was easily the best first kiss I've ever had; possibly the best kiss I've ever had. I thought it might be awkward or clumsy but god, it was so passionate and just mmmm," she sighed dreamily. "And you know what's weird? It wasn't weird. I was kissing Chandler and it wasn't weird. Isn't that weird?"

"So you felt that spark?" Rachel questioned, side-stepping the weird question altogether.

"Uh huh, sparks, fireworks, chemistry, electricity – we had it all."

"Wow," Rachel mused, slightly jealous, "you know I remember my first kiss with Ross. It was so passionate and exciting standing out in the rain…but then look how that ended." She sighed realizing her glass was empty, both literately and figuratively, so she got up and headed to the kitchen. "Drink up girls, I'll make another batch."

"What if what happened to you and Ross happens to me and Chandler?" she asked.

"I don't think it will," Phoebe said confidently, "you guys are very different couples. I mean when Janice cheated on him, Chandler wanted her back so badly he forgave her, begged her to stay and kept her shoe! I can't see him ever having a one-night stand after a fight." She chose her words carefully, hoping to not bring up the whole 'we were on a break' situation or hurt Rachel.

"She's right," Rachel mused coming back with a full jug and topped up all their drinks, "Chandler and Ross are different people. Both geeks, but at least Chandler hasn't got any dinosaurs in his bedroom."

"No, he doesn't," Monica agreed, remembering just how much she'd enjoyed sleeping there the night before. Sleeping beside him in his bed had seemed so natural, liked she belonged there. She'd felt at home in his room, it just breathed Chandler and she liked that. "But what if we take the risk and something happens? I don't know if I'd be able to forgive myself if we ruined our friendship."

"Could you forgive yourself if you don't risk it?" Rachel asked looking at her roommate, she'd been in a similar situation a couple of years ago and could understand her dilemma, so wanted to try a different tactic.

"What'd ya mean?" Monica frowned.

"Say you decide not to risk it and stay friends. Could you forgive yourself when he starts dating other women or Kathy and you know that you had the chance for that to be you? As years go by and he marries, has children, moves out of the city could you forgive yourself for wimping out?"

"I hadn't thought of that," she admitted, taking a large mouthful of alcohol. "I don't want him to see other women, especially not Kathy."

"If it's not Kathy it will be Jessica or Hayley or Yvonne or any other woman, there's plenty of women out there that would want Chandler," Phoebe pointed out. "You can't have it both ways. You either get together with him or you have to let him go and he's crazy about Monica. If you decide against him you'll make both of you miserable and do you honestly think you'll be able to go back to being close friends with this rejection hanging in the air?"

"I dunno, hopefully, eventually," she sighed her fingers playing with the glass.

Her friends made valid points. She knew she wanted to be with him but she was scared to take that step but Rachel was right. Surely she risked even more if she tried to ignore this and keep their friendship at the same level…

* * *

Monica was drunk.

Waaay too much alcohol.

"Are we watching this in English?" Rachel frowned at the television set, "it sounds funny."

Monica and Phoebe concentrated at the screen and listened to the voices.

"Sounds Spanish," Phoebe commented, "or maybe Chinese."

Monica scoffed, knowing if Chandler was here he'd have a funny comment to make. She sighed, why wasn't he here?

"You ok, Monica?"

"I miss Chandler."

"What?" Rachel laughed, "He's only across the hall."

"I know," she whined.

"You loooove him," Phoebe laughed.

"I know," she whined again. She did love him that was no longer in question.

"Why don't you go over there?" Phoebe suggested.

"It's late," Rachel warned squinting at the clock, "it's past 2am. He'll probably not appreciate seeing you."

"Of course he would," Phoebe dismissed, "he looooves her too. I bet he's waiting up for you, secretly hoping you'll come over."

"I promised I would go over," Monica told them. "I said I'd go round after you left."

"I'm sleeping on your couch," Phoebe pointed out. "I don't think I could make it home right now, so you might as well go see him now, if you want to."

"I really want to," she sighed, "and I wanna kiss him again and stay in his bed."

"Just don't throw up in his bed," Rachel advised.

"Ooh, can I have your bed?" Phoebe asked, knowing it would be a lot comfier than the couch. "I promise I will definitely not be sick in it. I never get sick from alcohol."

"Ok," Monica shrugged easily, "but only if I get to stay with Chandler."

"You will," Phoebe laughed, knowing there was no way Chandler would deny their friend anything. "Now go! Go tell him you love him and get all mushy."

"Ok," Monica nodded, swaying slightly as she stood, "opps."

"Have fun," Rachel called as she watched Monica stagger to the door. Thank god she didn't have far to go.

Monica made it through the first door with relative ease and came to stand in front of number 19. She blinked trying to get it in focus before reaching for the handle. She missed it on the first attempt and giggled slightly before managing to grip it and push the door open.

Chandler was alone in the living room, sat in his canoe, the duck and chick next to him. God, he looked cute. How had she not noticed before?

"Hey," he greeted softly, a beautiful smile spreading across his face, "I was starting to wonder if you'd changed your mind. How was girls' night?"

"Good," she hiccupped slightly as she moved forward trying to look as sober as possible. It didn't work.

"Are you drunk?" he laughed, standing up and approaching her.

"Noooo!" she dismissed with her trademark catchphrase.

He just shot her a look.

"Maybe," she whispered trying to hold a finger to her lips, she missed, hitting her nose.

Chandler just tried not to laugh. It had been a while since he'd seen drunk Monica. He just hoped she'd drunk for fun and not because she was finding this situation between them too stressful.

"How about we get you some tasty water?" Chandler suggested, moving away from her and over to the sink. "There's leftover pizza if you've got the munchies, just don't tell Joey you ate it, or that I offered it; he'd never forgive either of us."

"You are amazing!" she declared.

"I try," he quipped handing her the glass. Making sure she had it, he rummaged in the fridge and pulled out the leftover slices.

Monica took some large mouthfuls before handing him back the glass. He placed it safely on the counter and when he turned back he had an armful of Monica. He liked it.

"You ok?" he grinned as she wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her petite body against his.

"I missed you."

His eyebrows shot up, both very surprised and very happy at the same time, "really?"

"Oh yeah," she said somewhat seductively leaning forward.

Chandler could smell the alcohol on her breath and knew he shouldn't take advantage of her in anyway but as she pressed her lips to his, he couldn't help but kiss back. A few kisses couldn't hurt, he hoped.

Eventually they pulled away and Monica's unfocussed eyes sparkled back at him.

"Wanna make love?" she slurred.

"With you? Sure?" he said easily. "Tonight when you're drunk? Nah."

She pouted.

"How about," he counter-offered, pecking her lips "we cuddle instead and I'll hold your hair back later if required?"

She smiled and giggled, hugging him closer, resting her head against him. "Sweet deal," she murmured happily against his chest.

Chandler couldn't help but grin contentedly, placing a kiss on the top of her head as his arms tightened around her.

It was a sweet deal.

* * *

TBC...


	8. Chapter 8

When Chandler awoke the next morning he couldn't control the large smile that crept across his face. Waking up to Monica in his bed two mornings in a row was something a man could get used too…even if he shouldn't. He had to remember that nothing was set in stone yet and he shouldn't get his hopes up. It was easier said than done though, as so many things were starting to point in his favor.

He allowed himself a few moments of just drinking in the sight of her, before quietly climbing out of the bed and leaving the room. He used the bathroom, grabbing some painkillers before heading over to the kitchen to fill a glass of water for her. She hadn't been _that_ drunk last night but she may be a little delicate this morning.

Creeping back into his bedroom, he placed his offerings on the bedside table nearest her. With just the slightest bit of hesitation, he leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on her forehead. He resisted running his hands through her hair for fear he'd wake her. Gazing at her once more committing it all to memory, he left the room and closed the door softly behind him.

Would she want breakfast? If she wasn't too hungover then a cooked breakfast may even help her, or would the smell make her ill? He wanted to do _something_ that would prove he was boyfriend material. Deciding he couldn't go wrong with toast, he headed over to the girls' apartment to grab some bread. What Monica didn't know, wouldn't hurt her.

Opening the door to number 20 he blinked in surprise. The usually neat and clean apartment looked trashed; it must have been _some_ girls' night. There were cushions and blankets on the floor, discarded video tapes, leftover popcorn with used jugs, bowls and cups littering the surfaces. If he wanted to prove he knew Monica, then cleaning this mess would be ideal.

Grinning, he walked further into the living-room realizing this was probably the first time in his life that he'd actually looked forward to cleaning. Shaking his head he started folding up the blankets and rearranging the cushions on the couch. He knew it wouldn't be to 'Monica' standard but at least it would be a vast improvement on the room's current state...not that that would be difficult.

At least she would know he tried.

Next were the video cassettes being placed back in their cases and piled in front of the tv. He shook his head at the choice of movies; he may never understand women. Then came the sticky used cocktail making equipment. He gathered up the numerous glasses, bowls and cocktail shakers- for 3 people they had used a lot of stuff. He started filling the washing-up bowl and squeezed on the rubber gloves and got to work.

"What are you doing?" Rachel complained as she dragged herself out of her room and into a kitchen chair.

"Trying to score some Brownie points with Monica," he grinned gesturing towards the gloves and apron.

"Want to score some brownie points with _me_? Stop this damn headache."

Smiling he went to the fridge, grabbed her a bottle of water, opened it and placed it in front of her, "here, you want any toast or anything?"

"No, water's good," she muttered, drinking it gratefully, "how's Monica?"

"Still asleep," he shrugged, "I didn't want to disturb her."

She nodded gingerly, her attention going to Monica's door where Phoebe emerged.

"Hey!" Phoebe greeted them brightly, "Wow, Chandler, Monica has you well trained already!"

He grinned as Rachel frowned, "how are you so…chirpy?"

"I had my hangover last night," she smiled happily taking a seat across from Rachel, "besides it takes a lot of alcohol to affect me and we didn't drink _that_ much."

"The washing up says otherwise," Chandler pointed out.

"My hangover says otherwise," Rachel agreed miserably.

"So what happened last night?" Phoebe asked Chandler excitedly, "after Monica went to yours?"

He smiled despite himself but shrugged trying to look nonchalant, "not much."

"Oh, please," Phoebe grinned wickedly, "look at you – you're sooo smitten."

He was.

He ducked his head slightly, "no comment." He went back to the washing up.

"She really likes you too," Phoebe continued, causing him to turn back around.

"Yeh?" He asked hopefully.

"Yeah," Rachel moaned, drinking more water, "you're pretty much all she would talk about last night."

That had to be a good sign…right?

"Really? Did she talk about good things...or reasons not to be with me?" He asked curious.

Chandler wished he could have been a fly on the wall last night. Getting to hear all her thoughts and druken musings; he was sure it would have been an _interesting_ experience.

"Mostly good," Phoebe reassured him, "she's scared though and that's the only thing holding her back."

"Scared of what?" he frowned.

"Losing you," Phoebe admitted, "if it goes Pete Tong,"

"What?" He frowned.

"You know, 'it's all gone Pete Tong'…a bit wrong…British rhyming slang?" she seemed exasperated at his lack of knowledge.

"Right…I'm, uh, down with that…," he muttered, "so, uh, did you guys manage to reassure her?"

"We tried our best," Phoebe shrugged.

Nodding he turned back to the washing-up, pleased to see the level was decreasing despite how it felt. Behind him Phoebe read a magazine and Rachel clutched her head occasionally muttering. He'd just finished the last glass when Monica crawled in.

"Hey," she blinked taking in the scene in front of her, "did you wash-up?"

"Uh huh," he smiled, "and tidied too."

Her eyes moved from him to survey the living-room before going back to him, "wow…thank you; that's sweet of you."

He smiled proudly at the praise as he removed his gloves and apron. She came up to him and they stood awkwardly for a moment by the sink, both very aware of the other girls' presence.

"That's _really_ sweet of you," she corrected softly smiling, her eyes looking into his.

"I figured you may be a little delicate this morning," he murmured back, his eyes returning her gaze before they shifted briefly to look at her lips. God, he wanted to kiss her; he wanted their good morning kiss a second morning in a row.

She came a little closer, and he watched her swallow. She wanted it to.

"For God's sake just kiss," Phoebe ordered.

Smiling softly he glanced at Monica, raising an eyebrow at her in question. She nodded slightly and needing no further permission he closed the gap between them and his lips touched hers. They were as soft and wonderful as he remembered and his arms snaked around her waist pulling her gently to him. He felt her arms move around his neck, a hand in his hair. He kept it soft and light very conscious of her probable hangover...and their audience. It was still amazing though and after it ended he smiled down at her.

"Morning," he greeted in a hushed tone, blue eyes sparkling.

"Morning," she whispered almost shyly, caught in the same spell.

"Awww," they heard from behind them, "you guys are so cute."

"I know," Monica smiled sweetly. Her eyes never left his and Chandler just wanted to explode with happiness.

"So, how are you feeling?" Chandler asked gently, keeping his arms around her. She didn't seem in a hurry to leave his embrace either.

"Not too bad," she shrugged, "thanks for the water and painkillers and sorry for last night."

"Why? What happened?" Rachel asked, "you didn't throw up on him did you?"

"Noo!" she complained to her roommate before looking quickly back at Chandler, "I didn't right?"

"No," he laughed, "you were the perfect house guest, you should stay over more often."

She blushed slightly and Chandler hoped he hadn't embarrassed her too much. He wished he knew for sure her decision and that the others weren't there so he could reassure her with another cheeky kiss or two.

"So what did you do to be sorry for?" Phoebe asked.

"I just meant coming round so late and being drunk," Monica confirmed, despite the fact that the apology had been to Chandler and not for them.

"It wasn't a problem," he promised. "I'm very _very_ glad you came round - it made my night," he grinned cheekily. "Say, are you still on for lunch? Cause we can always postpone it if you aren't feeling great?"

"No, no, I wanna go," she reassured quickly her hands resting on his tee, "I'll be fine after a shower."

He tried to reign in his smile for the risk of looking foolish but he knew it wasn't working. Having her wanting to go on a date with him, having her in his arms and her hands branding his chest, he knew just how badly he wanted a relationship with this woman. Not just the kissing or sex, which he was sure would be beyond fantastic, but all the little day-to-day wonders that came with being involved with her.

Joey and Ross entered the apartment and Chandler automatically released her, not comfortable holding her like that in front of all of them, especially not Ross.

"Morning," they greeted.

"Where's breakfast?" Joey complained, noticing the severe lack of preparation.

"Urgh," Monica complained, "you'll have to make it yourself."

"What?" Joey whined.

"I can make you toast," Chandler tried to compromise to which Joey frowned but eventually nodded.

"Just don't eat it over here," Rachel warned.

"Hungover?" Joey asked sympathetically.

She glared at him in response.

"I'm gonna grab that shower," Monica announced, glancing again at Chandler who smiled back shyly.

He watched her disppear into the bathroom and held back a sigh; he had it bad.

"So where are you taking her for lunch?" Phoebe asked, causing Chandler to blink, realizing he was still staring at the bathroom door.

"Huh?" he asked somewhat sheepishly.

"Where are you taking Monica?" she repeated somewhat amused; the man had it bad.

"Oooh there's a new place on 3rd that looks fancy," Ross offered.

"Or Benny's Burgers are doing buy two get two free," Joey put in oh-so-helpfully.

"Eew, stop talking about food," Rachel protested.

"Whilst they are both _very_ good suggestions," Chandler lied, "I've decided on something a little more low-key."

"Pizza?"

"No Joey, not pizza."

"Then what?" Phoebe prompted, enjoying seeing this shy, romantic side to him. It was quite the eye-opener and she had a gut feeling that him and Monica were onto the start of something really special.

"I thought a picnic in the park," he shrugged self-consciously.

"For a first date?" Ross protested with a slight frown.

"Yes," Chandler answered slightly annoyed, "she's a little hungover and won't want to go anywhere fancy. I'm not trying to impress some stranger…it's Monica; she knows me and I'm not gonna try putting on an act. I just wanna show her we can have a good time together. Besides it's Sunday lunch, it's sunny out, it'll be fun," he shrugged.

"I think it's lovely," Phoebe reassured him, shooting a look to Ross, "just perfect. Monica will love it."

"Yeah," Rachel agreed, although Chandler wasn't sure if she was agreeing just to annoy her ex. "It's called being romantic, Ross."

"Hey," Ross protested, "I was romantic with you."

She scoffed.

"I-"

It looked like it was going to turn into a full blown Ross/Rachel argument, especially with Rachel hung-over. Chandler didn't want to hang around and really didn't want anything to dampen his mood. He had a date to prepare for.

"I'm gonna go grab a shower myself and get ready," Chandler interrupted them. "Just do me a favor and don't tell Monica where we're going, but tell her to dress casual."

With that he walked out of the girls' apartment whistling.

Life was good.

* * *

Thanks again for all the reviews. I'm glad people are enjoying this :o)


	9. Chapter 9

A/N- thanks again for all the reviews guys!

* * *

"Hey," Chandler greeted as he walked into the girls' apartment a while later, freshly showered and more than a little nervous. He was going on a date with Monica.

His eyes automatically searched for her but sadly with no success. Instead he found all the others staring back at him eagerly. Just great. Man, he wished this was still a secret; he was nervous enough as it was.

"You all ready?" Phoebe asked excitedly.

"Sure," he shrugged, gesturing to his bag containing the neatly rolled picnic blanket…one that he'd 'borrowed' from Monica last summer and had conveniently forgotten to return.

"That's all you're taking?" Ross asked with a frown.

"Ye-ah," Chandler answered with a slight frown of his own. He had a small something up his sleeve but he didn't want to tell them all the little details. He was determined for some things to stay private.

"What about food?"

"I thought we'd grab some sandwiches from a deli or something," he offered, his frown deepening at Rachel's scoff. "What?"

"Sandwiches?"

"Nothing wrong with sandwiches, buddy," Joey backed him up.

"Thanks -" he was interrupted by Ross.

"What about flowers or chocolates?"

He blinked, "what?"

"Oooh chocolate," Phoebe joined in, "you can never go wrong with chocolate,"

Chandler frowned worriedly, really wishing that the others weren't there. They really weren't helping his anxiety levels right now.

"It's low-key," he protested weakly, "I don't need chocolates."

"It's your first date," Ross pointed out, "it never hurts to try and woo the woman."

"Woo?" Chandler paused surprised, "really? Just what century do you think we're living in? Look, it's a nice, relaxed picnic in a nice relaxed park- no 'wooing' needed."

Ross rolled his eyes, not looking convinced.

Chandler sighed, heading over to the fridge to grab a bottle of water, needing to get away from them. He was fed up with having to constantly justify his choices. He was pretty confident it would be a good date for the pair of them, despite what the others thought.

Moments later Monica emerged from her bedroom and he'd never been more grateful to see her in his entire life.

"Hey," she smiled brightly at him and he couldn't help but return her smile.

"Hey," he replied taking her in. She had dressed casually as instructed but the shorts showed off a lot of leg and her strappy top hugged her curves. She was gorgeous.

A collected, "ahhhh," came from the gang and he couldn't help but chuckle at Monica rolling her eyes. She threw her handbag over her shoulder, plucked her sunglasses from the coffee table and then purposely walked over to him, grabbing his hand.

"Let's get outta here," she suggested to which he simply nodded, more than happy to comply. "See you guys later," she called, pulling him from the apartment and shutting the door on their protests.

Safely shielded from prying eyes, Monica stopped suddenly and answered his questioning look with a smile. Tugging him to face her, her arms slipped around his neck, "sorry for that," she apologised looking into his blue eyes, "I had to get out of there, they've been doing my nut in."

He chuckled, nodding slightly in agreement as his hands lightly gripped her hips, his thumbs drawing little circles, "I know," he murmured, enjoying her embrace. "So much for not going down the public entertainment route, huh?"

"Well," she smiled almost seductively which caused him to swallow hard, his throat suddenly dry, "it's a good job they can't see through closed doors."

With that she gently pulled his head towards hers and pressed her lips to his. He closed his eyes savouring the kiss as his fingers tightened their hold on her, bringing her even closer to him. Her lips felt amazing under his and he deepened the kiss unable to get enough of her. He wondered if he'd ever get used to how amazing it felt to kiss her, to hold her like this. He prayed he'd be allowed the opportunity to get used to it.

Eventually they pulled apart, smiling widely as they looked at each other. Part of Chandler desperately wanted to ask her if this meant that she'd made her decision, but the other part of him didn't want to risk ruining the moment. There was still a slight chance she hadn't completely made up her mind and he should be treasuring these moments.

"So where are we heading?" she asked still smiling, still keeping her arms around his neck.

He wished he could pull off a sexy, 'to bed babe' and walk her backwards into his apartment but he couldn't picture that going down well. She'd probably just laugh at him.

"Well, I'll give you a clue," he grinned, wiggling his eyebrows, "I didn't find your picnic blanket just to return it to you."

"A picnic?" she grinned back, "That sounds perfect."

Chandler let out a relieved breath; thank god. He hadn't wanted to admit it but the others had started to worry him enough to give him doubts.

"Really?" he asked, just to make sure, "cause we can do something else if you'd prefer?"

"No, I'm sure," she promised, leaning forward to place a peck of a kiss on his lips, "let's go."

They untangled themselves but as they headed for the stairs she silently laced a hand through his. He glanced down at their entwined hands for just a moment before smiling and giving her hand a brief squeeze. As they descended the stairs and walked onto the street Chandler couldn't help but appreciate how natural her hand felt in his. Sure, they were close friends and had held hands on numerous occasions but never like this. This made them feel like a couple. Her hand warm and comforting yet somehow new and exciting.

"What do you fancy eating?" he asked her as they leisurely strolled along the Manhattan streets. Both were enjoying the sun and the company so they weren't in any rush. "Anything you want, my treat of course."

"Such a gentleman," she teased.

"I aim to please," he quipped and she chuckled in response. "Just yell if you see a deli you wanna stop at, unless," he glanced over to her, "you're still feeling rough? We can always forgo the food."

"I'm fine," she promised, "I think Rachel drank most of it, I was just a _little_ tipsy."

He snorted and she whacked him playfully, "hey!" he protested good-naturedly, "I didn't say anything."

"You snorted."

"I exhaled," he defended, "besides…you're a cute drunk."

To his delight she blushed slightly, turning her face into his chest. He chuckled releasing her hand in favor of placing an arm over her shoulders and hugging her to his side. He couldn't resist placing a kiss in her hair, inhaling the scent of her shampoo. God, he hoped she'd made her mind up as otherwise this was pure torture.

Her arm came around his waist and they continued their walk, oblivious to the numerous New Yorkers that went about their daily business around them. A moment later he felt her pause and glancing down at her he followed her eyes to a hotdog cart and grinned.

"You want one?" he asked quietly.

She glanced at him guiltily then shook her head, "it's not very _first-datey_ ," she sighed.

"It's _our_ first-date," Chandler pointed out, "it can be as _first-datey_ or _non first-datey_ as we like; there aren't any rules. If you want hot dogs then we'll do that."

He watched her as she struggled with her internal debate.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm game if you are," he grinned cheekily, never one to turn down fast food, "come on." He steered them towards the street vendor, "We can do the classy-date another time."

He hoped there'd be another time anyhow. He definitely wanted to take her out on all sorts of dates, from silly ones to fancy ones. He wanted to experience them all with her.

He ordered a couple of hot dogs, declining any onions and bought a couple of juice cartons. Handing Monica hers, they entered the park and searched for a spot to settle in and call their own for the next few hours. It was fairly busy given the weather and the fact it was a weekend, but it didn't take them long to find a quiet little corner.

"Here, hold this a sec," Chandler instructed handing her his food.

He then dug out the blanket and spread it out across the ground. She was about to sit down when he stopped her with a raised finger. He looked mightily pleased with himself and she raised a questioning eyebrow.

"Wait a minute," he grinned, digging around in the bag some more. She watched amused as he pulled out a small empty glass coke bottle and waved it at her with a mischievous grin.

"What are you up to?" she asked confused as he placed the bottle in the centre of the blanket.

With a flourish he produced a slightly squished single rose from a side pocket and placed it in the make-shift vase.

"Aww," Monica laughed, "that's soo sweet."

And it was. It was such a simple silly gesture but at the same time the sentiment was so romantic that it filled her heart. She was loving getting to see this side of him. How had she gotten so lucky to have a guy like Chandler fall in love with her?

With no more surprises coming, they settled on the blanket and tucked into their not so classy lunch. They shared numerous glances and secret smiles. Monica laughed as he got some sauce on his face, leaning over to wipe it off with her thumb.

"I'm having such a great date," she announced a little while later, her eyes sparkling. She looked relaxed and happy; it was a good look on her he decided.

"Yeah?" he murmured, his slightly uncertain tone causing her to look up at him. "I'm glad. I, uh, I know none of its anything fancy and the rose is hardly a grand gesture…but I wanted to do something nice. Something that's us but nothing too..." he trailed off not quite finding the right words.

"I love it all," Monica promised softly, reaching a hand out to rub his thigh, "it really is perfect, Chandler. You know, this morning I was worried you'd try to take me to some fancy restaurant and I'd be all blah."

He chuckled, meeting her eyes; he couldn't imagine her ever being blah.

"Really?" he asked and she nodded. "Then I'm very pleased you approve," he smiled, starting to feel a smidge proud.

"More than approve," she corrected, "you got it spot on."

He beamed happily, "I told you before," he pointed out nudging her foot with his, "I know you Miss Geller."

She looked at him then, really studying him and he swallowed nervously but let her have her fill. "You do," she eventually said quietly, a hint of seriousness entering her voice.

His heart sped up, instantly noticing the slight change in her tone. Was this it? He watched as her free hand bridged the gap between them and loosely took his. She idly played with his fingers for a moment as she contemplated her next words.

Eventually, she looked and met his eyes and smiled, still keeping her fingers interlocked with his, "it's been a surreal weekend," she finally started.

He offered her a lopsided smile, nodding, "you're telling me."

"There's been lots to think about," she continued, "stuff I really hadn't given much thought about before. Starting a relationship with you would be life changing."

"I know," he confessed softly. It would change both of their lives. He knew if she gave them a chance that they'd never be anyone else for either of them. This would be it. It was as exciting as it was terrifying.

"It's a big risk, Chandler and I won't lie, the thought of losing our friendship still terrifies me."

He nodded remaining silent.

"But it terrifies me more to think about missing out on the chance to be part of something amazing because I was too scared…"

He was holding his breath, desperate to hope she meant what he thought but not daring to. Life never went his way and he was hesitant to start believing otherwise, despite all the signs. He needed to know for sure, "what are you saying?"

She swallowed, her fingers tightening on his as she looked into his gorgeous eyes, "I want there to be an 'us'," she confessed.

He let out the breath, his body physically relaxing in relief as a huge smile broke his face into two. "Really?" he asked unable to quite believe it.

"Uh huh," she promised, his smile contagious, "I think we could be really good together."

He squeezed her fingers.

"We would be… _will_ be."

He was certain of that.

"I wouldn't mind taking things slow," she admitted, "you know get used to it a little."

"We can go as slow as you need," he assured earnestly.

She smiled, scooting closer towards him, facing him, their bodies touching. They just stared happily at each other for a moment basking in the excitement of the promise of what was to come. Slowly, as if drawn to each other they both leaned forwards. They met half way, coming together as their lips brushed against one another's. It was slow but intense, filled with promise and hope.

When they pulled away, Chandler couldn't stopped smiling, his eyes memorizing every inch of her sun-kissed face.

"I can't believe we're doing this," he admitted quietly. "I'd really hoped that you would but I didn't allow myself to believe it. I've wanted to be with you for so long Monica that I just…I…" he trailed off, too many emotions fighting within him stopping his words from forming.

Understanding, she placed her hands on his cheeks, framing his face as she offered him a watery smile, "I know," she promised as she kissed him again, "and I'm sorry you went through all those months without telling me, having to keep it all inside."

"I'm just glad you know now," he whispered, "and that we're gonna actually do this."

Grinning she kissed him again, confident that she'd made the right decision. Pulling away she rested her forehead against his. She closed her eyes, just needing to be close to him. She felt his breath against her cheek as she gently caressed his face. Loving the connection; _their_ connection. It felt so right.

They were eventually pulled out of there little bubble as a nearby child started throwing a tantrum. Chuckling they pulled away, still smiling stupidly at each other. Chandler lay back down on the blanket, encouraging Monica to join him. She did, rolling on her side so she could lay an arm across his chest and they both sighed contently before chuckling at the timing.

As he lay there, Chandler couldn't remember a time when he'd felt this content. He hadn't had many moments in his life where he'd wanted to freeze time so he could memorize every little detail, but this was one of them.

"I could stay here forever," he heard her sigh, as if reading his mind, "although I think the others might come looking for us if we don't come back."

"Oh the others," he sighed, he'd momentarily forgotten about them, "do you think we could bluff them? Tell them we're just staying friends and then secretly meet up for some night time tete-a-tetes?"

"Tempting," she chuckled, "though I doubt we could get away with it. They'd be watching us like hawks and I'm pretty sure this permanent smile I'm going to have plastered on my face would give us away."

He smiled, liking that he was responsible for that smile and pretty sure he'd be wearing a matching one.

"I guess," she continued, "we'll have to just put up with their well-intended relationship advice," she half-shrugged, hugging him a little closer.

"They'll calm down eventually though, right?" he asked.

There was a long paused before she spoke, "sure."

He was pretty certain she was just humoring him.

"Maybe we could just run away together?" he suggested, tugging her tighter to him.

"To a land far far away?" she giggled, her hands stroking the front of his t-shirt.

She'd stopped believing in fairytales a long time ago but as she lay here in his embrace, the sun warming them on this lazy afternoon, she was starting to believe she had found her prince and quite possibly her happy ever after.

"Can't we stay a little longer?" she pouted and he chuckled, rolling over to face her.

"Sure," he promised, "we can stay as long as you like."

He leaned forward capturing her lips and she returned the kiss with fever. Her fingers lacing through his soft hair causing shivers to race through his body.

He wasn't sure how he was going to manage taking things slow with her but he would...if she was the reward he'd go as slow as she needed.

He was officially dating Monica.

All was officially right in his world.

* * *

A/N - ok, so originally this was gonna be the last chapter but when I reread it felt a little unfinished. So I'm currently writing another chapter that should hopefully round it off nicely :o)


	10. Chapter 10

A/N – Opps, I was wrong and this isn't the last chapter. Turns out I majorly underestimated my ability to waffle on! The scenes I had planned seemed a lot shorter in my head but when I came to write them…well…let's just say there's at least 2 more chapters worth…which is hopefully good news. Considering that this was originally a one-shot I should've figured I rambled more than I realised ;o)

* * *

Chandler glanced down at his watch and couldn't help but let out a small groan of disappointment. They'd been out on their picnic date for hours and it was unfortunately true what people said; time did indeed fly when you are actually having fun. He couldn't remember ever enjoying a Sunday afternoon more than this, however it had gone quickly and they'd soon have to leave their bubble and face reality once more.

"What?" Monica questioned lazily, her head resting on his shoulder where they laid snuggled on the blanket together. He held out his wrist to her and she glanced at the circular display as realization dawned, "crap."

"Yep, I guess we'd better make a move," he sighed regretfully and couldn't help but grin as she moaned in protest. It was nice to know the feeling was mutual.

Reluctantly, they untangled themselves and sat up. He was first to slowly stand, stretching his stiff muscles before reaching out a hand and tugging her to her feet. Purposely, he pulled a little too forcibly so she ended up flush against him and he wrapped his arms around her to hold her in place. He swooped down and claimed her lips, swallowing her gasp of surprise. She soon returned the kiss with passion, clinging to him as she allowed herself to get caught up in the moment.

Finally, they broke apart breathing heavily and Monica raised her eyebrows, "wow."

"I know," he agreed.

Staring at each other for just a few more moments, they grudgingly pulled apart. Raking a hand through his already mussed hair, he stepped away and took a couple of deep breaths, before he got to work folding the blanket. Monica quickly joined him to ensure it was, of course, folded in the _correct_ way, neatly and to her standards, before being placed back in the bag.

He grabbed the wilting rose and glass bottle about to throw them out when Monica stopped him.

"Are you kidding?" she asked shocked, "I'm keeping this," she plucked the rose from his fingers.

"Really?" he asked, grinning in surprise.

"Uh huh," she informed him happily, "it was a really sweet gesture. I'm going to press it and keep it as a little token of our first date."

He swallowed, thrilled that it meant so much to her; for some reason he hadn't expected it. His face softened, "I'd like that," he eventually admitted.

She offered him a smile before stowing the rose away safely and zipping the bag shut. Chandler, still trying to be a gentleman, grabbed the closed bag, pulling it onto one shoulder before he grabbed her hand. He gave her captured hand a gentle squeeze and was more than a little delighted when she squeezed back.

"Sooo, I guess it's time to face the others," he sighed as they started a slow pace back through the park.

There was a pause; neither wanting to see the others right now and have to deal with their inevitable interrogations.

"It's still early," Monica eventually pointed out, eager for their date not to end, "how about a movie?"

He paused mid-step and turned to look at her, a smile of appreciation on his face.

"That sounds like a genius idea," Chandler grinned loving her logic; loving her. "You're amazing. Have I mentioned that?"

"I try," she quipped, Chandler-style, raising an eyebrow.

Laughing, he leaned forward and gave her another quick kiss, reveling at how natural it felt to do just that. Loving the smile that spread across her face, he gave her hand another quick squeeze as they headed along the path towards the movie theatre.

Chandler didn't care what movie they saw. He just wanted to spend more time with her, just the two of them.

* * *

"I not only walk you home but even escort to your front door," he smiled as they came to stand in the hallway between their apartments that evening, "you can't get much more gentlemanly than that."

"I don't think it counts when you live right across the hall," she chuckled lightly, wrapping her arms around him, which he happily copied.

He laughed softly and just stared at her for a moment drinking her in. She was perfect.

"I, uh, I would invite you in for a drink," he murmured, "but I don't think it's such a good idea, ya know, if we're gonna take this slow and all."

He watched her swallow and nod, "ditto, and there's probably some stragglers still at mine wanting gossip."

He rolled his eyes good-naturedly before meeting hers once again and getting captured in their intensity. Being this close to her he could feel the electricity darting between their bodies and slowly got pulled in, leaning forward for a final goodnight kiss. It turned passionate quickly both needing this connection between them. As the kiss deepened, he heard her slight groan which immediately sent shivers through him and caused some sort of desperate noise of his own in response. Still entwined, he walked her backwards a couple of steps until they hit the hall wall. Craving more, he pressed his body to hers unable to get enough of her. He felt her leg shift and wrap around his lower calf and he groaned again in approval, his body on fire.

"Gross! Just what I really didn't need to see!"

They sprang apart guiltily to find Ross looking mightily unimpressed from the girls' doorway.

"Um," Chandler swallowed, breathing heavily, trying to form a coherent sentence as he briskly ran a hand through his hair. "I, uh, we-"

Ross just shook his head, "it's just weird," he whined in that funny voice of his.

"Well, get used to it," Monica warned causing Chandler to look over at her and smile. She smiled back and he stared at her, unable to look away. He was getting caught in the spell once more…

"God, at least let me leave before you start up again," Ross protested, hurriedly passing them and heading for the stairs.

They looked over at one another again and started to chuckle. The moment was well and truly broken.

"I guess this is goodnight," Monica commented, nervously fiddling with her bag strap.

"Yeah," he nodded looking at her, debating if it was safe to try and kiss her again, or if they'd get into dangerous territory too quickly. He'd promised her they'd take this slowly and he wasn't sure he'd be able to keep that promise if they started making-out again.

She took the decision out of his hands when she stepped towards him and placed a firm hard kiss onto his unsuspecting lips. "Night," she called as she promptly headed into her apartment and closed the door.

Wow.

His hand came up to touch his lips for a moment before he shook his head in a vain attempt to remove his stunned, stupid grin. Slowly, he came to senses and entered his own apartment to find Joey alone watching tv.

"Hey," he greeted.

"Hey," Joey grinned taking in his friend's expression, "I take it it went well?"

"Yep," he smiled, chucking his keys on the counter and grabbing a beer from the fridge.

"Has she decided?"

"Yep, we're officially together," he had a sudden urge to do his victory dance but managed to repress it in time; no point in spilling and wasting good alcohol.

"That's great news man, congrats. I know how much you liked her."

"Thanks," he walked over to where his housemate sat.

"You kiss her?"

"Yep, lots," he couldn't keep proud smile from his face. He wasn't one to kiss and tell but he was allowed to be a little smug; he'd spent a large part of the day kissing and touching Monica. He may never know how to be humble again.

"Niiice," Joey approved. "You wanna pull up a patio chair? Extreme Midget Wrestling's about to start."

"Cool," Chandler agreed easily, settling beside his roommate. He was glad that Joey had gone easy on him and not wanted loads of details. He just hoped the same could be said for Monica and the girls...though in all honesty, he sincerely doubted it.

* * *

The second Monica closed the door to apartment 20 she was bombarded with questions.

"Ooh how was it?"

"Did you have a good time?"

"Are you dating?"

"Did you kiss?"

"Was he romantic?"

"Are you gonna see him again?"

Not bad considering there were only two of them there. She sighed, wishing she was still in the hallway with Chandler. She started to smile just thinking about that kiss, heck, about the whole date. It had simply been perfect.

"Monica!" Rachel protested impatiently, bursting her bubble, "come on, share, we need details."

Monica had to resist rolling her eyes; obviously, her roommate was a little hungover still and just a touch crabby. Great.

"It was good," she said as nonchalantly as possible, as she joined them on the couch.

"Good or _goooood_?" Phoebe teased excitedly taking in Monica's glowing aura.

"The second one," she finally admitted with a grin of her own. She knew she couldn't keep this from them. Besides, they'd helped her realize her feelings and encouraged her to actually get together with him. Plus, she liked girly chats with them. At least Ross wasn't in ear shot.

"I knew it!" Phoebe squealed.

"Was he romantic?" Rachel asked, finding it a little hard to imagine.

"Very," Monica sighed remembering the date and the rose she had kept. "I think it's actually the best first date I've ever been on."

"Really?" Rachel asked surprised, "better than the 'all you can eat' dinky doughnut date with Tom Parkinson back in Junior High?"

"Yep," Monica agreed, "easily. And better than that 'Dishy-Dan-you-can-order-the-lobster-man'."

"Wow," Rachel mused, remembering how much her housemate had raved about that date.

"So, did you talk with him?" Phoebe asked. "Like have _the_ talk with him? Have you decided for sure?"

"Yeah," she answered shyly, "we talked and we're officially together."

"I'm so happy for you!" Phoebe pulled her into a hug and moments later Rachel joined in to make it a group event.

"You and Chandler," Rachel eventually commented as she returned to her seat. "Ya know, that's gonna take some getting used to."

"That's what Ross said when he interrupted our make-out session in the hall," Monica laughed causing the other girls to giggle, imagining the scene.

"Oooh," Phoebe grinned, "I take it he's still good kisser? Chandler that is, not Ross."

"Mmm," Monica sighed dreamily, "he's an amazing kisser and if anything, it's got even better, even hotter now that we're a couple."

"Then why are you finishing your date here with us and not across the hall?" Rachel asked the obvious question.

"Because…we wanna take things slowly," she sighed heavily. Why had she suggested that?

"Mon, you spent the last two nights in his bed," Rachel pointed out, "That's hardly going slow."

"We didn't _do_ anything," Monica protested. Well they had, but not in the way Rachel meant. They'd talked and cuddled and god, she'd loved the feel of just being in his arms; in his bed.

"So, why are you taking it slow?" Phoebe asked.

"I…because…," she groaned closing her eyes, "I had reasons, good reasons but I can't think of them right now."

Right now, all she could think of was going over to apartment 19 and finishing that kiss. Would they have taken it further if they hadn't been interrupted? If it wasn't for her stupid brother would they already be in his bedroom breaking the 'slow' rule?

Rachel chuckled as if reading her thoughts, "I sense you won't be taking it slow for long."

"50 bucks says you put out by the end of the week."

"Phoebe!" Monica admonished, "No betting on my sex-life. Actually, no betting on my love life period."

"It's a little too late for that," Rachel muttered to which Monica raised a warning eyebrow.

"There might be a betting pool on when you guys are gonna get married," Phoebe admitted a little sheepishly.

"What?" Monica asked pissed, "we've been on one date!"

"We didn't start it," Rachel complained, "we were all discussing you guys and how commitment-phobic Chandler is and how you're…" she swallowed under Monica's glare, "pro commitment," she said quickly, "and that it was an interesting mix. One thing led to another and we started betting and…"

"I don't want to know," Monica insisted annoyed. "I can't believe you bet on us."

"You want in on the action?" Rachel asked hesitantly.

"No!" Monica shot her down. "I don't want to know any details, ok. Look, this thing with Chandler is really important to me and I really don't want anything to screw it up. If he hears you guys talking about marriage and stuff you're just gonna freak him out. So, please, you can bet on us all you like and I promise I'll share the good bits with you at girly nights but can you please promise not to say this stuff in front of Chandler? That you'll leave us alone? Please? We want to do this our way without any pressure."

"Of course," Phoebe sighed, "we'll try."

"Ok, sure," Rachel agreed a little reluctant, "we'll be good. We promise."

Monica would believe that when it happened but at least they were going to try and reign it in a tad; that was pretty much all she could ask for with this group. So, she had the girls covered. As for the boys- Joey was Chandler's responsibility but she couldn't see him caring much about any relationship specifics. And Ross definitely wouldn't want any details.

Sure, they'd all be watching them, speculating and no doubt running all kind of betting pools on their relationship; there was no way around that. It would settle down eventually and they would become old news, she hoped. One thing she did know for sure was that all this initial weirdness and gossip would be worth it.

She was very sure of that.

* * *

A/N – thanks again for all the reviews and for sticking with this one! FYI – for any Chandler fans, the next chapter starts with him in nothing but a towel ;o)


	11. Chapter 11

A/N - Thanks again for reading this story and all the amazing reviews/support. I love this fandom!

And without further ado let's get to Chandler and that towel...

* * *

The next morning Chandler came out of his bathroom with a towel around his waist whistling happily. He couldn't remember _ever_ being this chirpy on a Monday morning. Sure, he still had to face work and all the statistic reports that 'Friday' Chandler had left for 'Monday' Chandler. Plus, Doug was back from his vacation, so would want a catch-up meeting where he'd probably share some very inappropriate vacation stories and dirty jokes that Chandler would have to pretend he found funny...he had a feeling he'd be using his fake work laugh a lot today.

Yet none of that really mattered. All he had to do was get out of this towel, get into some clothes and then he could be in the girls' apartment saying good morning to Monica within minutes. Monica. He'd missed not having her in his bed last night but he'd take this as slow as she wanted. Yesterday's date had been amazing and the goodnight kisses had been outta this world. If he went around to the girls' apartment early enough, he could give her a _proper_ good morning kiss as well, without an audience.

He practically skipped into his bedroom with thoughts of Monica running around his head. He entered his room and froze, blinking in shock as he found the woman at the center of his thoughts stood by his bed. His eyes widened in surprise and as she spotted him hers widened in a similar fashion.

"Hi," he swallowed, "not, uh, not that it's not great to see you but what are you doing here?"

"I," she was staring at his bare chest and Chandler was a little smug that he could have that effect on her. God only knew the effect she had on him. "I, uh," she was still staring, "I thought if I came here early we could say good morning...without the others being there, but, uh, I didn't realize you'd be naked..."

"Sounds like a plan," he chuckled, loving that she'd had the same idea as him, "and I'm not _naked_."

"You are under that towel," she swallowed, her gaze switching to the said towel.

It was his turn to swallow. It was getting hotter in here.

"Well, if we're playing _that_ game, you're naked under those clothes," he pointed out, pointedly running his eyes over the full length of her clothed body. "Besides, we've hugged before, when you've been wearing a towel, it's no big deal."

With that he stepped closer to her, breaking her out of her trance. She held out a hand to try and stop him coming too close, worried that if they touched with him in his presence state it would be too much of a temptation. Unfortunately, the hand collided with his damp, bare chest, defeating the whole point of her protest. She swallowed hard.

"That was before," she said somewhat weakly. "It's different now."

Flushed, she glanced down, her eyes automatically landing on his naked chest and on her hand that was still there. She watched as her fingers gently caressed the smooth skin underneath them, almost of their own accord. He remained still but she could see his chest rising and falling quickly as his breathing sped up. It felt so intimate. She heard him take a sharp breath as a lone fingernail lightly traced the small scar left from his nubbin-ectomy.

"Monica," he groaned, finally capturing her hand and squeezing his eyes tightly shut, "if you wanna take this slow you've gotta stop doing _that_."

He opened his eyes and met hers, offering a little smile to take any edge off his words.

"Sorry," she smiled too, a little self-consciously, "I couldn't resist."

"And that's a good thing, a _very_ good thing," he said conversationally, "but we're taking this slow, plus we don't have time for _that_. I've gotta get to work and you're soon gonna have an apartment full of hungry people. I certainly don't want our first time to be rushed with Joey banging on the door demanding to know where his pancakes are."

She laughed, nodding. She didn't know how slow they'd be able to take this and putting out before the end of the week was definitely a possibility. But he was right, they didn't have time just now anyhow, no matter how tempting it was.

"Ok, fine," she agreed, "but I still want my morning kiss."

"That I can do," he grinned cockily, pulling her flush against him before she could protest.

One arm went around her petite waist as the other threaded through her soft hair, cradling the back of her head as their lips crashed together. He could feel her hands roaming his naked back as their lips desperately caressed each other's. It felt so good, so hot. It was as intense as their good night kiss yesterday in the hallway. Possibly even more intense given Chandler's state of undress. The feel of her hands on his naked skin was simply amazing. He couldn't get enough of this woman.

It took a lot of will-power but eventually they broke away from the kiss. Still breathing heavily they stayed in their embrace and just smiled at each other in awe. Wow. Kissing Monica would never get old. He stared into her eyes just loving everything about this moment.

"Good morning," she finally greeted, her eyes sparkling.

"Good morning to you too, beautiful," he smiled leaning down for shorter, more gentle kiss.

The term of endearment hadn't gone unnoticed by Monica and as the kiss ended she hugged him tightly before stepping away. She was still wondering how she'd gotten so lucky to have had a guy like Chandler fall in love with her.

"Unless you're planning on phoning in sick I should probably…" she gestured reluctantly to the door.

"Yeah," he swallowed, his tongue darting out to wet his lips as he looked at her. Part of him was very tempted to phone work but that wouldn't solve the Joey and the pancake problem. "Thanks for the, uh, good morning."

"Same time tomorrow?" she asked innocently.

"Oh yeah," he grinned, watching as she flashed him another smile before turning and leaving.

He could get used to these early morning greetings, he mused as he debated if he had time for a cold shower.

* * *

A short while later Chandler emerged from his bedroom, dressed and ready for breakfast; he was hopeful for a second, more subtle 'good morning,' with Monica. He was surprised to see Joey sitting at the counter waiting for him. Occasionally they'd wait for each other but not often.

"You alright, man?" Chandler asked as he fixed his tie in place.

"Yeah," he shrugged, "just thought I'd wait for you."

Chandler frowned slightly taking him in, "what's going on?" he finally asked.

"Nothing," Joey shrugged, "I just figured you might want some back-up, ya know."

"Back up?" He didn't know.

"Yeah, in case the others start throwing questions at you or Ross goes all big brother on ya or something. I've got your back."

Chandler grinned, actually quite touched by his roommate's gesture.

"Thanks, Joe," he clapped him on the shoulder.

"No problem," he stood up, "though you're cutting it fine. As soon as I started smelling the pancakes I almost left without you."

"It's much appreciated," Chandler chuckled knowing never to question Joey's loyalty to food.

They walked across the hall and as they entered the apartment all the others were already there and they received various greetings. He could feel everyone's eyes on him but he didn't care. His eyes went straight to Monica where she stood by the hob. She turned and smiled brightly at him, her eyes sparkling as he approached her. She looked gorgeous to him.

"Hey," he grinned, pausing a moment to take her in before placing a brief kiss on her lips.

"Hey," she smiled back happily, turning back to the pancakes.

With a wide smile on his face, he took a seat at the table.

"That's it?" Rachel asked.

"What?" he asked still smiling, "you think we're gonna have some sorta make-out session in front of you all?"

"Well, no," she grumbled, "but I was expecting more than _that_."

"You shouldn't make assumptions," Monica pointed out as she came over to the table with some more pancakes. She stood a little closer to Chandler than necessary and placed her hand on his shoulder; he offered her a beaming smile in response and she had to resist the urge to kiss him again. God he was cute.

"So, uh," Ross cleared his throat looking mighty uncomfortable. "I take it you guys are a 'thing' now?"

"Uh huh," Monica confirmed, her hand squeezing Chandler's shoulder slightly.

"I think it's great," Joey barged in, giving Chandler a wink, "You guys are going to make an awesome couple. I can't imagine two people working better. Congrats guys."

"T-thanks man," Chandler hadn't expected Joey to actually 'have his back'.

"I didn't say it wasn't great," Ross defended, "it'll just take a while to get used to it."

Chandler nodded in understanding. He didn't really _need_ Ross' approval, nothing would stop him from seeing Monica but at the same time he desperately wanted him to be ok with it.

The conversation gradually moved away from the group's newest couple and onto other things. Joey, as predicted, had already moved on from Kathy and had a date with some girl called Casey lined up. Chandler was pleased that his roommate hadn't stayed too bummed about the whole Kathy thing. He still felt bad about it though and decided he should do something for Joey...he just had to think of that something.

He glanced over to Monica and they shared a smile when he found she was looking at him too. He wished it was the weekend still and that he could stay here with her longer. He knew if he pulled one sick-day at work to spend the day with her, he'd never be able to convince himself to go back. Offering her one last secret smile he went back to finishing his breakfast before glancing at his watch. He had to go.

"Right," he commented starting to stand, "I need to head to work."

"Me too," Ross agreed, "I'll walk down with you."

"Sure," Chandler nodded although he wasn't entirely sure this was a casual coincidence. Was this the big brother moment about to take place? He glanced at Joey wondering if he could borrow him as a bodyguard, but his roommate seemed totally engrossed with Phoebe writing some song about Tarzan and a nose hair…he wasn't going to ask.

He stood there awkwardly a moment, wanting to kiss Monica good bye but not wanting to make a big spectacle out of it. If they didn't want to be public entertainment then they had to keep it out of the 'public' eye. Yet, now that Ross was gonna be escorting him from the building, he couldn't exactly pull her into the hallway like he'd planned. Well, not kissing her good bye wasn't an option so he just had to man up and ignore all the eyes that were starting to look at him funny.

He walked over to Monica and she gave him a shy smile, apparently also glad that he didn't intend to leave without a kiss. It shouldn't have surprised him that she'd noticed his internal debate. He leant down, closing his eyes and pressed his lips to hers. It was a little longer than their second good morning kiss but it didn't linger for too long.

When he pulled away he left his face close for a moment, "I'll see you later," he said quietly.

"Ok," she answered just as softly, "have a good day."

"You too," he sighed, then unable to resist, leaned forward and shared another chaste kiss with her before looking into her eyes once more and finally moving away.

There were various amused farewells as they left and Chandler managed to share one last look and a smile with her before the door closed. The goofy smile was still on his face as he turned to face her brother. Opps.

To his relief Ross just offered him a smile back.

"So," Chandler started when it was clear Ross wasn't. "Are you sure you're ok with this?"

"Yeah," Ross shrugged, "it helped that we talked about it at the strip club. I could see how much you loved this 'mystery' woman and how much you wanted to be with her before I knew who you were talking about. So I guess I was already kinda routing for you. Besides, I told you I'd be there no matter what this woman's decision was and I'm not gonna go back on that. Just cause it turned out to be Monica doesn't change that and...you're a good guy."

"Thanks."

"But I just need to make sure of one thing," Ross admitted halting on the landing, "and then after that, I promise I'll be your best friend again and not your girlfriend's brother."

"O-k," Chandler swallowed, really wishing he'd hired Joey now; he was pretty sure he'd get a lot more than bruises if Ross threw him down the stairs.

"She's definitely not a rebound from Kathy?" Ross asked quickly.

"No," he answered back just as quickly, not pointing out that he'd never been in a relationship with Kathy, so being a 'rebound' was impossible. "The whole Kathy thing was a mistake. I know you don't quite understand it but you don't need to. The bottom line is I've been in love with Monica for a long time and I chose her…and more importantly she chose me too."

Ross studied him a moment, obviously finding what he was looking for and finally nodded, "ok. Just never hurt her."

"I won't," he promised, clapping his shoulder as they continued down the stairs. "You know I wouldn't, couldn't in fact. Your sister is freakishly strong."

Ross chuckled, letting Chandler joke his way out of the conversation.

"So, are you going to see that superhot but supermessy doctor again?" Chandler asked, desperate for a change in topic. He still remembered Ross giving him that 'don't go near my little sister' speech back in college. Luckily, a lot had changed since then, including his hairstyle.

"I don't know," Ross admitted. "She is super hot and she likes dinosaurs….how often does that happen."

"I'm gonna go with never."

"Exactly but her apartment is just _so_ bad. She like has the exact opposite of Monica's cleaning standards."

"Wow," Chandler raised his eyebrows. That was bad.

"I know," Ross sighed. "Maybe I'll go round there one more time and see what happens."

"Good plan," Chandler agreed, "though it's somewhat ironic that the one girl you date that probably has dinosaurs in her bedroom, has a bedroom too messy for you to see them."

"Tell me about it," Ross complained as they stepped out onto the busy sidewalk. "Catch you later, man."

"See ya," Chandler nodded as headed towards work.

It was weird to think that hopefully he'd never have those sorta dating troubles again. He'd never have to experience that dread of going on a first date. Nor ever have the random dating problems that Ross was currently facing. He would no longer be the awkward one at the bar, sweating profusely while Joey got phone number after phone number.

He'd hated the dating jungle with a passion and it hadn't liked him any better. He hadn't enjoyed it…well, quite frankly he'd sucked at it. Big time. Yet somehow, despite all that he'd won the ultimate prize. He'd ended up with a woman as fricking amazing as Monica.

A slow smile spread across his face at the thought.

How the hell had he managed that?

* * *

A/N- a lot slower paced but hopefully you still enjoyed it. Sorry for the wait with this one...it's been one of those weeks!


	12. Chapter 12

As Monica left the restaurant that evening, she was surprised to see Chandler waiting for her outside.

"Hey," she greeted, causing him to look up as she approached, his eyes crinkling as he smiled. She placed a quick kiss on his lips, her hands on his arm squeezing gently. "What are you doing here?"

"What? It's a crime for a guy to come meet his _girlfriend_ after she finishes work?"

She couldn't help but be thrilled at how easily he called her his girlfriend and how right it felt him calling her that; how right this _all_ felt.

"Of course not," she grinned, offering him another kiss as an apology, "I just didn't expect to see you here. You're full of surprises aren't you?"

"That's me," he quipped, smiling at her like an idiot. "I just figured that we could walk back together and get a bit of 'private time' before we're back amongst the gang and back to being center of attention."

"Sounds like an excellent plan," she murmured, stepping even closer in order to wrap her arms around his neck. "I like the sound of 'private time'."

He chuckled slightly before claiming her lips, reveling that they had no nosey friends or brothers around to interrupt. He could kiss her as freely and as passionately as he wanted to, needed to. Their lips caressed one another's softly before becoming harder and more insistent. Memories of their good morning kiss fuelling them on as their bodies pressed together and electricity bolted through them.

When they broke apart he looked into her eyes and loved that she looked as happy as he felt. With a mutual agreement they untangled from their embrace and took each other's hand as they started the short walk home.

"So, I never asked, did you get a Spanish inquisition when you got in last night?" he enquired.

"They weren't too bad," Monica mused, "they could have been a lot _lot_ worse. You know, it's kinda nice that they care so much and that I've got them to share this with."

"Just don't share _everything_ with them," Chandler requested, "I don't want this to turn into the whole Princess Leia thing," he grimaced and shuddered remembering what Ross had told him about Phoebe and those cinnamon swirls. Just no.

"It won't," she promised easily, "I'll be selective with the information I give them." She looked forward to having stories to tell though, even if she didn't share them all. "How was Joey? And Ross, what did he say?"

"Joey was easy," Chandler shrugged, "he's happy for us and well, you saw him at breakfast, he has our backs."

"Aww, that's really sweet," Monica squeezed his hand as they strolled home.

"Don't let Joey hear you say that," he warned, " _sweet_ isn't manly enough for him."

"I'll bear that in mind," she smiled. "I take it it's manly enough for you?" she teased, causing him to chuckle.

"More than manly enough," he promised. "You can call me sweet, cute, adorable…I'll accept pretty much any positive adjective from you."

"Good to know because you are easily all those things, plus gorgeous, sexy, charming…"

"Go on," he encouraged cheekily laughing as her free hand whacked him. In all honesty, he was beaming at her praise and thrilled that she thought of him in any of those ways.

"What about Ross?" she asked and he blinked.

"You shouldn't think about him in any of those ways, ow," he complained as she whacked him again, laughing.

"I meant what did he say to you when you left this morning?" she clarified, "He didn't try and go all big brotherly on you did he?"

"Nah, well not much," Chandler thought about it. "He's ok with us and I'm ok with him being protective over you. You're worth protecting."

She smiled back happily at him really pleased that this thing between them hadn't come between Chandler and her brother. They'd been friends for a long time and she would have hated being part of any bad blood.

They soon reached their building and slowly took the stairs finding themselves in the hallway.

"We should have taken the scenic route," Chandler sighed. Hindsight was a wonderful thing.

"Well, until we go through that door we're still on 'private time'," she smirked, turning to embrace him like last night.

"You are simply a genius Miss Geller," he complimented leaning in for a kiss.

He really couldn't get enough of kissing this woman and the feeling seemed to be mutual as she sank into it, molding her body to his. He felt her hands raking through his hair as her lips consumed his. He was in heaven. He made a small noise as she continued to assult his lips. He could do this forever...

"Do you guys wait for me to do that?" Ross complained as they sprang apart. Shaking his head, he moved pass them and into Monica's apartment, leaving the door wide open.

"Opps," she giggled into Chandler's ear. "So much for 'private time' huh?"

He chuckled back, somewhat embarrassed about getting caught yet again, but a part of him was so happy that he just didn't care.

"Come on," she grabbed his hand and pulled him into the apartment where the others all were, "hey guys," she greeted.

They received various waves and greetings as Monica headed into her room to change out of her work clothes. Chandler couldn't help but wish for x-ray vision right now; that would be a cool super power. As that wasn't an option he headed to the fridge, grabbing a cold soda before settling on the over-sized armchair. He listened to Joey and Rachel argue over the television and wasn't too surprised when Rachel won…technically it was her apartment.

Moments later Monica emerged and Chandler didn't even try to hide the smile that spread across his face. It widened when she joined him, squishing herself against him on the chair and he was able to put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer. His grin continued to grow even when she stole some of his soda.

The rest of the gang were used to them sitting close anyhow, so it wasn't much to adjust to. Chandler was relieved that they seemed to ignore them and started to relax; simply content. He paid little attention to the tv, only occasionally making the odd comic remark here or there as necessary.

He paid more attention to the woman pressed against him. Every time she shuffled slightly or laughed or sighed he felt it. Every now and again she'd tighten her arms around him or play with his tie and he'd return the favor by hugging her closer or kissing the top of her head.

Their first official day as a couple and being 'coupley' in front of their friends had gone better than he'd thought. The gang had gone fairly easy on them, Monica was still smiling a lot and he was happier than he'd felt in a long time.

A definite success all round.

* * *

Chandler took one last look at his handy work and grinned, feeling mightily pleased with himself. He walked out of his apartment, closing the door firmly behind him before he headed across the hall in search of the others.

The last few days had been amazing, simply amazing. Dating Monica was simply amazing. Him and Monica had become more confident at being a couple with each other and in front of the gang. And in fairness to the others, they'd adjusted fairly well to the latest shift in the group dynamics and for that he was very grateful.

"Hey!" he greeted bursting through the door.

The gang looked up sensing his excitement. Out of habit his eyes sought out Monica and found her instantly; he aimed a special smile that was saved just for her and received a matching one in response. Life was good.

"What's going on?" Rachel asked, snapping him out of his moment with his girlfriend.

"I've got a surprise!" he announced clapping his hands together.

"Want us to leave the room?" Phoebe smirked.

"Not that kind of surprise," he protested, rolling his eyes. "Come on," he gestured to the still open door.

"What is it?" Joey asked curious as he stood up. He loved surprises.

"It's in the apartment," Chandler insisted, pleased when everyone else eventually copied Joey and started getting to their feet. Once they were all out in the hallway Chandler grinned and pushed open the door to apartment 19 with flair, "taa daa!"

They all blinked in surprised. The canoe had gone and was replaced with some rather nice furniture. Two large comfy recliners were in front of a large entertainment unit and a yellow sofa along the back wall. In addition to this were all sorts of gadgets proudly displayed around the room.

"Wow!" Joey ran excitedly into the room and hopped straight onto the barcalounger. "Ahhh," he smiled in approval, "I don't think I'm ever leaving this chair."

"There's more," Chandler stated excitedly as he picked up a remote from the counter and aimed it at the entertainment center.

They 'ooohed' and 'aaaahed' as the door slid open to reveal a large new television, stereo and speakers.

"A tv that appears from nowhere!" Ross exclaimed happily as he took the other barcalounger. "That's amazing!"

"I know!" Joey agreed, "I've always wanted one of these. This is amazing Chandler. Thank you!"

As the others explored the newly refurbished apartment and admired/ played with the all the new toys, Monica went over to Chandler where he stood by the counter. Smiling at him, she slipped her arms around his waist.

"This is really sweet of you," she praised, offering him a gentle kiss.

"Yeah well," he shrugged, his fingers coming to caress her cheek lightly, "it needed replacing and it's not like Joey was going to do it. Plus, I thought it would be a nice thing for him as he's been so good about everything recently and…" he looked at her wiggling his eye-brows, his voice dropping, "I figure these bad-boys are gonna be a lot comfier to make-out in than the canoe."

She laughed, smiling widely as she whacked his chest lightly and pulled him down for another kiss. She should have guessed they'd be an ulterior motive, although she'd be lying if she said she wasn't looking forward to trying out the make-out potential of the chair.

By mutual consent the gang decided to hang-out in the guys' apartment for the evening. Christening it with bad movies, video games and pizza. Monica and Chandler shared his new barcalounger, both loving how comfortable it was and being able to snuggle in it. It seemed the perfect size for the pair of them.

"You guys are really cute," Phoebe said out of nowhere, causing everyone's eyes to focus on the couple.

"T-thanks," Chandler stuttered somewhat embarrassed.

He was relieved when he felt Monica tighten her hold on him and snuggle deeper, "we know," she sighed contentedly.

He couldn't help but smile proudly and place a kiss on the top of her head in thanks. He wished he could do more to thank her but he'd have to wait until the others left. Instead, he contented himself with little touches and quick stolen kisses. She returned each and he could tell she was looking forward to the rest of the gang leaving as much as he was.

Eventually, one by one the others bid their farewells and left. Even Joey turned in early with claims of an early audition but Chandler suspected he was just giving them privacy. Right now he felt like buying him an even bigger tv to thank him.

"So…" Chandler grinned, a hand running through her short hair. "Wanna make-out?"

"Hmm," she pretended to think about it before quickly adding, "ok."

Chuckling they came together, lips meeting and the laughter dissolved into a few soft sighs.

"You were right," she announced still in his arms, "this is way more comfy than the canoe."

"It will be more comfy for other things as well," he swallowed as his hand slowly stroked her leg, "I mean, when you're ready. I'm not trying to rush you or anything and I totally get that you wanna go slow, I just meant when we get there, this could be an option. Not our first option or anything but if we ever wanted to do it outside of the bedroom, not that inside the bedroom would ever get boring or anything but-"

To his relief she just laughed and shut him up with a kiss.

"You're cute with your foot in your mouth," she grinned tracing the front of his tee shirt. "Besides I had an idea about that whole 'slow' thing."

"Yeah?" he tried to sound encouraging, dreading that she might want to wait months, years or until god forbid marriage. Would he survive that long? They could always elope.

"Well, I was thinking on Saturday night both Joey and Rachel have dates…maybe we could use that to our advantage?"

"Saturday?" he swallowed heavily, "you wanna…on Saturday?"

Images of what he wanted to do to her on Saturday started playing out in technicolor in his imagination. Before he started falling for Monica he'd never realized what a vivid imagination he had.

"Yeah," she shrugged a little self-consciously, "I know it's not, uh, slow _slow_ but…it feels like it," she admitted and Chandler grinned broadly, tightening his hold on her.

"Saturday sounds amazing," he reassured her quickly. Very relieved she only wanted to wait a couple more days. If less than a week from their first date counted as 'slow' for her then he was all for it.

"Saturday it is then," she smiled at him and he just smiled back caught in her gaze.

"It's a date," he promised as he pulled her back down for another make-out session.

* * *

A/N- Again, thank you all so much for reading and reviewing. I love hearing your thoughts on this story. There's just one chapter left (for this sure this time). It's gonna finish on (un)lucky 13…:o/


	13. Chapter 13

A/N - sorry for the delay with updating. My internet at home is broken so can only use my phone or work computer (it feels like the dark ages lol). Means I've had to edit here instead of Word so apologizes for any typos that I haven't caught - I didn't realize how much I rely on those little red squiggly lines.

Anyhow...excuses over! Hope you enjoy...

* * *

"Hey," Chandler greeted as he walked into the girls' apartment that Saturday morning, pleased to see only Monica in the room.

"Hey," she smiled as she glanced over her shoulder, continuing the washing up.

He walked up behind her, his arms sliding around her petite waist as he pulled her back against him. His lips trailed tiny butterfly kisses across her shoulder and up her neck until his lips paused tantalizingly by her ear.

"How do you even make washing up look sexy?" he murmured into her ear, his hot breath causing shivers to run through her. Just a few more hours.

She swallowed, removing the washing up gloves and turning in his embrace. Her arms came around neck, her fingers teasing the short strands of hair she found there.

"I'm sure it has more to do with the fact that tonight we get to make love for the first time, so right now you're as horny as hell and anything's a turn on," she pointed out.

"You're probably right," he swallowed.

They simply stared at each other for a moment. He swore he could actually see the electricity that was thrumming between their bodies. The anticipation that crackled between them. It had only got more intense since they'd set a date.

The pull was too strong to resist and he leaned forward claiming her lips with his in a long hard urgent kiss. Lips, tongues and teeth clashed as the kiss deepened and Chandler groaned, involuntarily tightening his hold on her. He was drowning and needed more. Why wait until tonight? Maybe they could-

"Don't mind us!" Phoebe laughed, causing them to spring apart.

Embarrassed, they turned to see Rachel and Phoebe walking into the room and making themselves comfy on the couch. Damn.

Letting out a frustrated breath, he raked a hand through his hair as he stole a look at Monica and couldn't help but grin when he saw her doing the same. She met his eyes and smiled, "tonight," she mouthed and he nodded.

Tonight. Tonight there'd be two free apartments and no interrupting friends. Tonight they could take it as slow or as fast as they wanted and enjoy their first time together. Tonight was going to be special regardless but if these previews were anything to go by...it was going to be hot, explosive and easily the best night of his life. He couldn't wait.

"What time's dinner?" she asked, pulling the gloves back on and returning her attention to the sink, desperate to give her hands something to do.

"6," he swallowed, trying to resist the urge to walk over to her and start kissing her neck again. He had to remind himself that they now had an audience and what he wanted to do with her was definitely best saved for 'private time'.

"6?" she questioned.

"I know it's a little early," he shrugged, "but I thought the earlier we eat the main…the earlier we could have dessert."

The little flirtatious look she shot in over her shoulder caused him to swallow hard. Part of him wondered how he was going to make it through this meal alive. He'd thought about having a take-out here so they didn't have to leave the apartment but Monica deserved to be wined and dined.

"I'll pick you up at 5.45pm, ok?"

"Looking forward to it," that seductive look was still in her eyes and he closed his, taking a deep breath to compose himself before turning to the other girls. "I'll see you guys later."

"Bye Chandler," they waved amused, waiting for him to leave.

"Wow," Phoebe commented as they moved to the kitchen table and closer to the source of gossip, "that looked like _some_ kiss."

"It was," Monica beamed happily.

"So how's the whole 'taking it slow' thing going?" Rachel smirked.

"Let's just say it's a good thing I didn't take that bet," Monica chuckled as she drained the sink

"What?" Rachel asked as Phoebe squealed excitedly next to her, "you've done it? What was it like? Why didn't you tell us?"

"We haven't done it _yet_ ," Monica corrected as she joined them at the table, "but we're gonna do it tonight."

She smiled at their excitement. She'd promised Chandler that she wouldn't share every little detail with the gang and she agreed with him on that. She wouldn't go into as much detail as she had about previous affairs but these were her girly confidants. She had to share _some_ bits with them.

"Are you prepared?" Rachel asked, "have you shaved your legs? Bikini area?"

"I actually went and had them waxed yesterday," she admitted. "I'm hoping for lots of sex in my future and I can't be doing with shaving."

The girls nodded in understanding.

"Oooh, we can get ready together!" Rachel realized suddenly. "It's been ages since we both had a date on the same night."

"And I can help you both with hair, make-up and wardrobe," Phoebe offered excitedly.

Deciding it was never too early, the girls hurried into Monica's room to start planning her look.

"You probably need to wear a little more than that," Rachel commented with a smirk, as she pointed at the black lacy lingerie that was laid out on the bed. "Is this new?"

"Yeah," Monica blushed a little, "I wanted to treat myself to something."

"Treat yourself or Chandler?" Phoebe grinned.

Laughing, the girls started moving onto her wardrobe to see what outfit she could wear over the top of the nice new _expensive_ lingerie.

* * *

"So, you're definitely going to stay at Casey's tonight?" Chandler checked one last time with his roommate as he adjusted his tie.

"That's the plan," Joey agreed, casting his eyes over Chandler's fancy suit. "Why? You guys got some big date planned?"

"Yep," he grinned, brushing off his jacket, "and I'd really appreciate it if you didn't get back too early. So, even if things go bust can you-"

"I can't believe you're trying to get rid of me," Joey laughed. "We've shared a wall for years."

"I know," Chandler sighed, trying to get his roommate to understand, "but this is different, ok? This is _Monica_ and I just want our first time together to be memorable...for the right reasons. Please?"

"You're such a girl," Joey laughed, "but yeah fine, whatever, I'll make myself scarce so you can do your girlfriend."

Chandler just glared at him causing him to laugh again.

"Right, I'm outta here," Chandler announced, "have a good night."

"You too," Joey called over his shoulder, his attention returning to the wide screen tv, "have fun getting laid."

Rolling his eyes he decided it wise not to comment and instead headed across the hall. He paused finding the girls' living-room empty.

"Mon?" he called.

"I'll be there in a second," he heard her call from her bedroom.

Glancing around the empty apartment he stuffed his hands into his pants' pockets and bounced on the balls of his feet. He was too excited to stand around waiting. Moments later she emerged, proving she was well worth the wait. Chandler froze on the spot; she was gorgeous.

"Hey," she greeted, frowning slightly when he didn't move or say anything. "Chandler?" she prompted.

"Wow," he finally let out. "I mean…wow. You look…"

A large smile spread across her face as she stepped up to him, close into his personal space.

"Oh, this old thing?" she asked, her hand gesturing towards her dress. Chandler's eyes involuntarily followed her hand, taking in the figure hugging material which clung to her body in all the right places. "I'm glad you like it."

How was he going to get through this dinner? He squeezed his eyes shut, composing himself once again, trying to get control. He opened them as he felt her touch his shirt before sliding her hands slowly and firmly up his chest. She wrapped her arms behind his neck, pressing her slim body against his as she looked up at him, her blue pools sparkling.

"You, uh," he swallowed, "you look amazing," he finally said.

"You look pretty fine yourself, Mr Bing," she informed him with a sexy smile, taking in just how attractive he looked in a nice suit.

"This old thing?" he mimicked back.

She chuckled before pulling him in for a toe-curling kiss. He was in heaven.

"Right," she pulled away much too quickly for his liking, "we better go if we wanna make our reservation."

"What if we don't want to make our reservations?" he suggested. "We could skip right to dessert."

She chuckled kissing him again quickly, "as tempting as that sounds, I'm hungry and I have a feeling we're gonna need some stamina tonight."

He nodded reluctantly knowing she was right. Planting one last firm kiss on her lips, he released her and they headed for the door.

* * *

The restaurant was nice, his food was nice, the wine was nice…and the company was frigging amazing. He was having such an awesome time with her. Sure, he'd loved their picnic date last weekend but being all dressed up with her at a fancy restaurant was something else. He loved being this 'coupley' with her in public, showing everyone that this woman had actually chosen him. Him.

"Can you believe how much has changed this week?" Monica asked as if reading his mind. "This time a week ago I was drinking cocktails with the girls, deciding if a relationship with you would be worth risking our friendship over."

"Was it?" he asked, taking a sip of his wine.

"Oh most definitely," she smiled. "I know it's only been a week, or even just under a week, but it's felt so right. Everything's just clicked into place and I honesty can't remember ever being this happy."

"Wow," he swallowed, as many emotions ran through him. He was somewhat in awe at her comment. "I feel the same," he confessed, "this has gone even better than I'd ever imagined and believe me, I imagined this lots."

She rewarded him with a sweet smile and took his hands in hers, playing with his fingers. He happily let her.

"And the others haven't been too bad," she mused. "The girls have been really supportive and curious...in a good way."

"The guys too," he told her. "I guess, despite my initial fears, we are lucky to have them on side. Can you imagine if we had tried to hide this? It could have put a load of pressure on us having to keep it a secret."

"Maybe," she shrugged, her thumb caressing the back of his hand, "it could have been fun as well though, maybe even romantic having to sneak around; having midnight trysts."

"Possibly," he shrugged back, "but I can't imagine us being any good at it. I mean, after wanting to be with you for so long and now having you feel the same way. I don't think I'd be able to keep my hands to myself, not give you little kisses or touches. I had to be so careful around you for so long, making sure I didn't let anything slip and now that I don't have to be...I don't think I could cope with trying to have to hide it all again. Especially not around the people that know us best, that see us everyday. I'd have sucked at it!"

She smiled leaning forward and kissing him passionately. He was caught off guard but it only took him a moment to start to kiss back. Loving the feeling of her lips and how they could drive him so wild so easily.

When they pulled away they stared into each other's eyes for a moment, "thank you for falling in love with me," Monica whispered suddenly, "and for clueing me in."

He chuckled, his smile widening to the point of painful, "I didn't have much choice," he admitted, "you're hard not to fall in love with."

She blushed and he chuckled again. Freeing his hand in order to stroke her cheek, he brought her face closer in order to claim her lips again.

"So," Monica said coyly, her hand dropping down to his thigh. "Where's this dessert I was promised?"

Chandler swallowed hard, all his attention on that hand. The feelings she could evoke in him from a single touch should have alarmed him; it didn't, it excited him instead. Her hand started to creep upwards and he placed his hand on top to stop it and ensure she didn't try and move it any higher; he might die. Looking around for their waiter he signaled for the bill.

Much to her amusement he had trouble, fumbling in his haste to get his credit card out of his wallet. Whilst he paid she slipped off her shoe and ran her bare foot slowly up and down his calf. Dear Lord, it was worse torture than the hand had been. Finally, once it was all settled and he'd added a generous tip, he grabbed their coats, draping his in a strategic position as he waited for her.

She just grinned cheekily, replacing her shoe and taking her jacket from him, kissing his cheek in thanks. She wrapped her arms around his waist as they made it outside and hailed a cab. On the short ride back they couldn't keep their hands off each other; both were desperately looking forward to this next step.

As they exited the cab and entered their building they made it up the stairs and came to stand in-between their apartments.

"So," she smiled, "your place or mine?"

He chuckled at her cheesy line and groaned. "Mine," he finally stated tugging her towards the said door. She didn't argue; Joey was more likely to stay out longer than Rachel anyhow so she happily followed him in. Both were relieved to find it empty and roomateless.

Silently, he took their coats and tossed them onto the barcalounger looking at her and taking in her beauty once more. The anticipation of what was to come was almost overwhelming. It hovered between them.

"So," he offered her a cute smile and walked over to her, coming to stand in her personal space. His hands rested on her hips, his thumbs brushing her sides as he watched her face carefully. "You definitely wanna do this now? 'Cause I can wait. It will take a very cold shower and a lot of will power but I can wait."

She smiled, falling deeper for him every minute. She was so lucky to be here with him now like this. He was so considerate, so cute and just so _Chandler_ that it warmed her heart. She wrapped her arms around his neck as just lost herself in his eyes again. She'd been doing that a lot lately but couldn't imagine ever getting tired of staring into the blue depths; she hoped she always could.

She leaned in and kissed him, gently at first as she savored the feel and taste of him, committing it to her memory. He matched her pace as long as he could until he felt the need to deepen it. His hands started to move, one wrapping tightly around her waist and the other in her hair, cradling the back of her head and holding her in place. He heard her moan of approval and slowly started to walk her towards the bedroom.

He couldn't believe how lucky he'd gotten to have a woman like Monica fall for him. He wanted to go back in time to reassure his younger insecure self that it was all going to work out. That all the pain and heartache was worth it just to get to this moment; to be in a relationship with Monica. To be kissing her and holding her and walking her into his bedroom. It was all _so_ worth it.

As they came to the bedroom door they pulled apart and he looked at her, trying to commit her flushed cheeks and excited smile to memory. He hoped there'd be plenty of love and sex in their future but they'd only have _one_ first time; he was determined to remember as much as he could.

She turned around in his embrace and entered his bedroom, flicking the lights on and paused in surprise. He grinned, coming up behind her and wrapping his arms around her, resting his head on her shoulder.

"You like?" he whispered, delighting in her shiver.

The bed had rose petals scattered across it, a couple of large candles stood of the bedside cabinets alongside a single rose in a coke bottle. "I thought you could have another rose to press and add to your collection," he murmured against her neck as he placed the lightest of kisses there.

He then released her and went to light the candles before hitting play on the CD player. As romantic music started to softly play, he turned around and gently offered her a smile. She swallowed. He was simply amazing.

"God, how did I get so lucky?" she couldn't believe how romantic he was. How much he went out of his way to treat her and make her feel so loved.

"I'm the lucky one," he corrected as he stepped up to her and kissed her deeply.

It was a kiss filled with so much love and promise at what was to come. Monica stepped back from him and smiled, "You're about to get luckier…I may even have a _little_ surprise under this dress," she said seductively stroking her hands down his shirt.

"And I may have a _not_ so little surprise in my- "she cut him off with a kiss and then another.

As they moved to the bed Monica still couldn't get over how perfect it all was. It was exciting and passionate yet she felt completely comfortable with each him; they could joke, have fun and be themselves. Relaxed enough around each other to truly enjoy this to the full and they had the whole night to enjoy exploring each other's bodies.

More importantly they had their whole lives to explore each other; to explore and share dreams and experiences. It may have only been a week but she knew that this was just the start of something truly special. Relationships like this didn't happen often and she was determined to grab it with both hands.

Chandler felt it all too. It was going to be a journey of discovery but as Monica giggled happily beneath him, he knew that he was going to enjoy every discovery, every moment. As long as he had this woman in his life he would look forward to the uncertain twists and turns it took.

The End.

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A/N - And it's finished! I hope you enjoyed it. Thanks again so much for everyone that's read and reviewed this story. Means a lot :o)


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